The European Parliament (EP) decided not to waive Hungarian MEP Klára Dobrev’s parliamentary immunity as requested by the Hungarian authorities.
It was Balázs Hankó, the then-minister of culture and innovation, who filed a complaint against the MEP last year after Dobrev, who was chair of the Democratic Coalition (DK) at the time asked him: “How many more pedophile priests have received tens of millions from the state for holding trainings in sexual education?,” among other things.
The former minister justified his complaint by arguing that, in his view, Dobrev had accused him in a deceitful and despicable manner. “Stop right here, that’s enough,” he said then, simultaneously rejecting the accusations. He concluded his video by saying that he was curious to see whether the EP would waive Dobrev’s immunity. (As we’ve previously explained, this doesn’t normally happen when political motives are suspected, and it is just as uncommon in the Hungarian Parliament too in the case of private prosecution; Fidesz MP Máté Kocsis’s parliamentary immunity was recently upheld for this same reason.)
In her response to Hankó at the time, Dobrev said that that the questions because of which he had reported her remained unchanged, and she referenced the case of a priest in Kecskemét against whom proceedings had been initiated on suspicion of pedophilia. After the request for revoking her immunity was submitted, Dobrev said that she considered it part of an attempt to intimidate and silence her.
According to Tuesday’s draft EP resolution, the complaint was justified by arguing that Dobrev’s statements were seriously offensive and might undermine the public’s perception of the ministry.
Even the draft from the specialized committee recommended that parliamentary immunity not be waived, because “the timing, context and nature of the prosecution, including the political affiliation of the representative of the private prosecuting party and his role as a Minister, and the selective use of criminal over civil law, collectively raise serious doubts with regard to the political motivation of the proceedings on which the request was based". The EP's full plenary session voted in favour of the committee's recommended course of action.
The EP’s opinion does not address whether the representative is guilty, but only examines whether their parliamentary immunity can be waived.
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