Human trafficking operation in Hungary: Former Prime Minister Orbán's brother is also in custody!

Security forces in Hungary carried out simultaneous operations on Monday morning, November 9, regarding allegations of human trafficking and visa irregularities. Local press and political sources claimed that former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's younger brother, Áron Orbán, was among those detained.

The Hungarian National Bureau of Investigation (NNI) and the National Asset Recovery and Protection Office (NVVH) carried out simultaneous raids on many addresses in the capital Budapest and the surrounding Pest province.

While the police confirmed the joint operation with an official statement, they did not share the identities of the detained suspects with the public at the first stage.

Hungarian news site Uzmanl.hu reported that the former prime minister's brother, Áron Orbán, may have been detained as part of an investigation into a network that is alleged to be an illegal intermediary in visa transactions.

While it is stated in the news that the investigation is being carried out by the competent authorities, no detailed statement has yet been made by the official authorities regarding Aron Orbán's role in the operation.

The allegations quickly sparked controversy in Hungarian politics.

Former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán indirectly confirmed that his brother was detained in a statement on his Facebook account.

Describing the operation as a politically motivated 'showdown', Orbán argued that the action was taken to remove a 'spy scandal' facing the government from the agenda.

The former prime minister used the following statements in his statement:

The aim of this dirty game is to eliminate the political rival and establish a one-party system.

Comparing the security authorities to Hungary's past political police structures, Orbán continued his words as follows:

I'm the real target, my little brother is just a tool.

Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar responded to the former prime minister's accusations on social media.

Criticizing Orbán for placing the responsibility on others and portraying himself as a victim, Magyar used the following statement in his post:

You reap what you sow.

While the legal dimension of the operation and the allegations against Áron Orbán have not yet been explained in detail by the official authorities, the development has brought the political tension in the country back to the agenda.

Former Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orbán, stood out as one of the leaders who advocated Europe's harshest anti-immigrant policies during his time in power. Orbán, who had wire fences built on the borders of Serbia and Croatia, especially after the European migration crisis in 2015, defined irregular migration as a threat to national security and cultural identity. He opposed the European Union's mandatory quota practices for distributing asylum seekers among member countries and argued that Hungary could not be forced to accept immigrants.

Orbán did not limit his immigration policies only to border security; He made harsh statements against immigration, especially from Muslim countries, arguing that Europe's Christian identity should be protected.

While regulations making asylum applications more difficult were put into effect during his government's term, these practices were the target of criticism from European Union institutions and human rights organizations.