The Hungarian Parliament lifted Péter Magyar’s immunity to reopen the investigation into the phone thrown into the Danube.

The Hungarian Parliament voted on Monday, September 28, to lift the immunity of Péter Magyar, leader of the Tisza party, with 139 votes in favor, none against, and no abstentions. The decision allows investigative measures to resume in a case concerning an incident that took place in June 2024 at the Ötkert club in Budapest.

According to prosecutors, Magyar allegedly took the phone of a man who was filming him during an altercation and subsequently threw it into the Danube. The phone was recovered with the help of divers, and the incident was investigated on suspicion of theft.

The investigation was initially blocked by Magyar’s immunity, as he was a member of the European Parliament. In September 2024, the European Parliament rejected the Hungarian prosecutors’ request to lift his immunity, and the case was closed. After Magyar became a member of the Hungarian Parliament in May 2026, the investigation could resume, and prosecutors submitted a new request.

Magyar asked his colleagues to vote to lift his immunity and maintained that he had not committed a crime, stating that he would act the same way under the same circumstances. He accused prosecutors of trying to distract attention from alleged corruption cases, but the prosecution rejected the criticism.

Lifting immunity does not constitute a conviction and does not establish the politician’s guilt. Parliament also lifted the immunity of former Fidesz minister Balázs Hankó and KDNP lawmaker Miklós Seszták, who are the subjects of other investigations.