The lawyer for former Hungarian culture minister Balázs Hankó said the defence had not received the written grounds for his detention or the hearing record by 1 p.m. on Tuesday. Hankó and his lawyer have appealed.
Hankó is being held in a two-person cell at the prison in Cegléd, where he is being treated appropriately and can stay in contact with his family, his lawyer, Tóth M. Gábor, told Telex.
The Kecskemét District Court, which ordered the former minister’s detention, had promised to provide the written reasoning and hearing minutes by Monday at the latest. But as of 1 p.m. on Tuesday, the lawyer said, the documents had still not arrived. Hankó, a Fidesz member of parliament, and his counsel have appealed the detention order, but the missing papers make it difficult to prepare their arguments.
Hankó was arrested last week in connection with an investigation into Hungary’s National Cultural Fund (NKA). Investigators suspect that more than 17 billion forints from the state cultural-support fund may have been channelled into prohibited political financing while he was culture minister. The allegation has not been established by a court.