János Hajdú

János Hajdú, Viktor Orbán's former personal bodyguard and a special-forces police officer with no investigative or analytical background, was appointed director-general of the Counter Terrorism Centre (TEK) when it was founded in 2010 — a choice Direkt36 reported was criticized even then because he had previously had "a lot of experience in busting criminals, but not so much in investigation." TEK under Hajdú is linked to Hungary's use of NSO Group's Pegasus spyware: from 2018 onward at least four journalists (including two Direkt36 reporters), businesspeople and lawyers were surveilled with the tool, and even Hajdú's own deputy, police brigadier general Zsolt Bodnár, was targeted after Hajdú grew suspicious of him. In May 2024, TEK obstructed two Telex journalists covering a public forum held by Minister Péter Szijjártó in Kalocsa, with an officer questioning the reporters' camera serial numbers under the pretext of a "circulation alert." Hajdú then handled the journalists' subsequent complaint unlawfully — failing to inform them of investigative steps or grant access to case files — a decision a court struck down as final in May 2026, ordering TEK to conduct new proceedings. No court has found Hajdú guilty of any crime.