Jozsef Szajer, a top member of Prime Minister Viktor Orban's Fidesz party, was stopped by police after reports of a house party violating lockdown rules. Prosecutors say he was found with drugs as he tried to flee the gathering, reportedly shinning down a drainpipe. On Friday he had pleaded parliamentary immunity but he is now under investigation - for both non-compliance with measures relating to the Covid pandemic and violation of drug laws.
The European Parliament said the immunity rule only extended to an MEP's official duties, not to their private life. At around GMT , prosecutors say, police were alerted by neighbours who complained about noise and potential lockdown breaches in an apartment located on Rue des Pierres in the centre of the Belgian capital.
Inside the flat, police found about 20 people, two of whom - not including Mr Szajer - invoked diplomatic immunity. Most of those present were men, some of whom were naked when police burst in, Belga news agency reports. They were cautioned for having broken the lockdown rules. A passer-by who told police he had seen a man descending a drainpipe was able to identify him.
The man's hands were bloody and it is possible he was injured while fleeing. He was escorted to his place of residence where he identified himself as S.
Criminal proceedings may only be brought if parliamentary immunity is waived, the statement adds. He had blamed "increasing mental strain" for the decision. In a statement on Tuesday, Mr Szajer admitted he had attended the party on Friday but did not describe it. It was not mine, I don't know who planted it or how. I made a statement to the police about this. Jozsef Szajer's resignation, followed by his confession that he took part in what media have described as a "gay orgy", is a serious blow for Fidesz, which has governed Hungary for the past decade.
