Bence Rétvári, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs at the Ministry of Public Administration and Justice, has told the television news station Hír Televízió that pension supplements will be revoked for more than one hundred former ‘III / III’ agents (who worked in the ‘internal enemy division’ of the communist-era secret services), and their heirs.

On the station’s Sunday afternoon news programme it was reported that the committee set up within the ministry had studied the cases of about 1,000 people who received state awards under the communist system which entitled them to pension supplements. The committee is revoking the supplements (between HUF 8,000 and HUF 16,000 per month) for the following groups of people: those who played roles in dismantling the democratic state between 1945 and 1949, or in the suppression of the 1956 Revolution; those who were prominent in the Hungarian Socialist Workers’ Party (MSZMP) or the Young Communist League (KISZ); state leaders under socialism; or those active in the secret services.

The report added that ‘The numbers are not yet final, and the committee is still examining other relevant pension supplements.’

Mr. Rétvári stated that the expert committee had established that, of the approximately one thousand cases examined, 109 people had been found to be undeserving of pension supplements because it had come to light that they had a past involvement with the secret services. In the next few days letters will be posted notifying them of the decision to revoke the supplement. From August onwards they will no longer receive the pension supplements which were ostensibly based on state awards, but were clearly linked to intelligence activities in the III / III division.

(Ministry of Public Administration and Justice)