The head of the National Security Service (NSZ) gave a guarantee that the organization never wiretapped anyone without a permit - stated Attila Mesterházy, MSZP vice-chairman of the Parliament's foreign affairs committee, after he had a meeting with Hedvig Szabó, director general of the National Security Service, on Monday.
The director-general said that even in the event of a change of government, he would 100% accept the truth of his statement, the socialist member of parliament said. He added that due to the confidentiality declaration he had signed, he could only provide general information about the meeting.
In pursuit of the truth: what do civil servants say about the Pegasus scandal? at the press conference held in front of the building of the specialized service under the title, the socialist politician emphasized that the NS only provides the technical conditions for operational actions ordered by other organizations, such as the prosecutor's office or the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, and the analysis of the information obtained in this way does not take place at the specialized service. Therefore, the customer is not responsible for the legality of the observations, but the NSZ. The vast majority of wiretapping is authorized by the courts, and a smaller part by the Minister of Justice, he explained.
In this regard, he noted that he has not yet received an appointment from the Minister of Justice for the discussion he initiated regarding the Pegasus case. He would like to know when and on what principles the minister will issue permission for secret surveillance, he added.
The director general also said - Mesterházy continued - that the technical service always uses the most advanced technology in operational actions.
The opposition politician emphasized that he firmly believes that the government has the Pegasus software and is definitely using it at the moment.
It should also be investigated whether, once the press was able to find out about the existence of the software, unauthorized persons, such as hacker groups, could get into the hands of data that endangers national security while using the software.
This should be investigated by the Ministry of the Interior and the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, and it would also be necessary to set up a parliamentary fact-finding committee after the prosecutor's investigation launched in connection with the case is concluded, Attila Mesterházy stated.
MTI
