Hungary’s new chief prosecutor apologises, and his first test is trust
The new head of Hungary’s prosecution service apologised to the public on his first day, as communist-era secret police files were opened for 60,000 people.
By
Juliette Carrel
In brief
- Parliament chose Péter Fejes for a nine-year term as chief public prosecutor, and he apologised for past failures of the service.
- Fejes was dismissed in 2012 by his predecessor Péter Polt, and retired from Vas County in 2025.
- Secret police files opened on 4 November, covering records tied to about 60,000 people.
- The week also brought €400 million in EIB-backed financing and a Revolut withdrawal.
Hungary’s Parliament elected Péter Fejes chief public prosecutor on Tuesday, handing him a nine-year post in an institution whose standing has been badly damaged, Daily News Hungary reports.
A vote and an apology
Once the vote was over, Fejes conceded that a number of choices made by prosecutors over the past few years had damaged the trust people place in the institution, and that this was deserved. Speaking to the press, he stated: “On behalf of the prosecution service, I apologise to society for certain decisions, and failures to act, which have rightly and justifiably offended the public’s sense of justice.” Colleagues who had spent their entire careers there but felt pushed aside also received an apology from him.
The office he takes over was criticised during Péter Polt’s tenure for not pursuing allegations of graft that touched politicians in government and businesspeople close to the previous administration. Things worsened in 2026. In June Pál Fürcht, who led the Central Chief Prosecutor’s Office of Investigation, left his post, and in July Gábor Bálint Nagy, a chief public prosecutor, resigned. Fürcht afterwards claimed that the Office of the Prosecutor General had interfered in probes of delicate cases. For now, that is only a claim.
From Vas County to the top job
Fejes studied law at the University of Pécs and started working as a prosecutor in 1988. His career has not followed a straight line.
- He becomes a prosecutor and works in Vas County.
- He is appointed chief prosecutor of Veszprém County.
- According to Telex, Polt removed him from office at once, offering no explanation.
- After posts in Győr and as deputy chief prosecutor for criminal law in Vas County, he retires.
His best-known files include the 1998 child murder in Körmend and the 2009 investigation into the killing of handball player Marian Cozma, which he supervised. He counts the proceedings over the 2010 red mud disaster among the most important of his career.
What he says he will change
Before the vote, Fejes told Válasz Online that the service needed immediate personnel and organisational changes. His stated proposals are:
- a Office of the Prosecutor General reduced in size;
- an examination of what the Central Chief Prosecutor’s Office of Investigation is meant to do;
- action on large salary differences and a more attractive prosecutorial career;
- reopening cases where new evidence emerges;
- senior prosecutors explaining important decisions in person, not only through official statements.
These are proposals, not results. Whether they restore trust or independence is not yet shown.
Secret police files made public
In the same week, on 4 November, files kept by the communist-era secret police were made accessible, 36 years after Hungary changed to democracy. The database holds records tied to roughly 60,000 people.
The publication has caused controversy. Public figures are being examined anew, and mistakes found in the files have prompted worries about wrongly assigned categories. The Hungary Weekly Briefing underlines a difference that readers should keep in mind: being named in an intelligence file does not amount to having knowingly cooperated with the communist regime.
The rest of the week
The 7 November edition of Hungary Weekly Briefing also covered:
- financing of €400 million for Hungary backed by the European Investment Bank, along with the government’s schedule for ending its dependence on imported Russian gas;
- Revolut’s withdrawal of precious-metals trading in Hungary, which has left affected customers uncertain;
- where the European People’s Party stands on the Article 7 rule-of-law procedure, as well as the choice to turn Christmas Eve into a public holiday;
- diplomatic activity by the embassies of India, Yemen, the United States, Indonesia, Türkiye, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Italy, South Korea, Poland, Romania, France, Switzerland, Ukraine and Norway, together with an interview of Yemen’s ambassador.
Photo: Incze Sándor Zoltán / Pexels
