Hungary prosecutor general appointed under Orban resigns after pressure

Hungary's prosecutor general Gabor Balint Nagy said Wednesday that he would resign after pressure from Prime Minister Peter Magyar, who had described him as a "puppet" of former nationalist leader Viktor Orban.

Nagy, who was appointed under Orban, said in a statement that he was stepping down solely to protect the interests of the prosecutorial service. He said the work and independence of the prosecutor's office should not be harmed by what he called politically motivated struggles around the prosecutor general. He also said attacks against him had gone beyond acceptable professional and public debate.

Since defeating Orban in April elections, Magyar has pushed to remove several senior officials. Former president Tamas Sulyok was removed by a constitutional amendment on Sunday. Orban's Fidesz party has called Magyar's actions autocratic.

Nagy's announcement came a day after a data centre hosting Fidesz servers was raided over corruption allegations. Nagy was appointed last year to a nine-year term after serving as chief of staff to his predecessor, Peter Polt, an Orban ally. Polt has left the prosecution service to lead the constitutional court, but his term there will end early because of the same constitutional amendment that removed Sulyok.

Magyar welcomed Nagy's resignation on Facebook, saying the country had removed another of Orban's puppets who, in his words, had been blocking the transition to democracy. He added: "Gentlemen, who will be next?"