Opposition politician calls police detention of István Szakács a mistake

Hungarian opposition politician Tímea Szabó has voiced strong criticism against the police for detaining István Szakács. Szabó, a former parliamentary representative for the Dialogue party, argued on social media that the action was a mistake. She believes the police operation was counterproductive, primarily serving to unnecessarily inflame passions and mobilize supporters of the ruling Fidesz party ahead of a planned protest.

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Based on the available information, it was a mistake to take Szakács István to the police.

While Szabó did not hide her personal opinions about Szakács, she contended that if the police's available information was limited to what Szakács published on his platforms, his actions should fall under the protection of freedom of speech. She asserted that these actions do not constitute grounds for suspicion of a criminal offense.

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The action was mainly good for unnecessarily inflaming passions before tomorrow's Fidesz demonstration and mobilizing Orbán's supporters.

Szabó recalled an instance where Prime Minister Viktor Orbán threatened Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony with imprisonment over the organization of the Pride event. At that time, Szabó herself posted on Facebook, pledging to "bail him out if necessary." This experience, she stated, leads her to question the legal basis for police forcibly entering Szakács's home and detaining him early in the morning.

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If the police really only had as much information as appeared on the liar's side in his posts, then in my conviction it falls within the freedom of expression and does not constitute suspicion of a criminal offense.