Prosecutor: EC annual rule-of-law report ‘contains inaccuracies and untruths’

The public prosecution, the statement insisted, acted “professionally and impartially”, and any suspicion of political interference reported to the office would be investigated “thoroughly”.

Regarding opposition politician Peter Magyar’s assertion that the office had been swayed politically and investigative documents doctored, the statement said that the office had decided to terminate its “wide-ranging and detailed investigation”.

It added that it would be unconstitutional and incompatible with the independence of the public prosecutor’s office for it to bring charges, and it had acted legally and correctly in all disputed cases.

Also, the statement called EC objections regarding the hierarchical structure of the prosecutor’s office “inaccurate and misleading”, and it cited conclusions made by the Consultative Council of European Prosecutors and the Venice Commission as confirming the view that its structure reflected rule-of-law requirements and enabled prosecutors to be free from politics.

The prosecution service “is independent of executive power”, it said, adding that the government and the minister of justice were not in a position to instruct the chief prosecutor, and in turn, prosecutors down the line could ignore any instruction from higher up until it was written down at their request if the prosecutor in question considered the command incompatible with the law.

Regarding the alleged dearth of results against high-level corruption, the statement said the EC report had cited the findings of previous annual rule-of-law reports rather than fresh data.

The report’s assertion of a high level of corruption in the public sector was also unfounded, the statement said.

In last year’s Eurobarometer survey, 22 percent of Hungarian respondents said corruption affected them in their everyday life, putting Hungary mid-field among EU member states, the statement said.