The Times - UK (2020-12-02)

the times | Wednesday December 2 2020 2GM 33

ative European People’s Party (EPP),

groupings of MEPs. Mr Szajer was the

EPP’s chief whip and deputy chairman.

In a statement yesterday the MEP

admitted having attended what he

called a “house party” above the bar in

the night club district of Brussels.

He said: “I didn’t use drugs, I offered

to the police on the spot to have an offi-

cial test done, but they didn’t.

“Police said an ecstasy pill was found.

It’s not mine, I don’t know who placed it

and how. I made a statement to the

police about this. I am sorry that I have

broken the rules of assembly, this was

irresponsible on my part, and I will take

the sanctions that come with it.”

Mr Orban’s government is facing

protests against changes to the consti-

tution to ban the adoption of children

by gay couples. Mr Szajer rewrote his

country’s constitution to include the

commitment: “Hungary shall protect

the institution of marriage as the union

of a man and a woman.”

Mr Szajer’s wife, Tunde Hando, 58, a

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Salma al-Shimi was arrested after

posting the photo on social media

An Egyptian model has been arrested

with a photographer for posing in front

of the pyramids in a tight-fitting version

of a pharaonic dress as part of a crack-

down on “public morals”.

Salma al-Shimi is one of many so-

called influencers on Egyptian social

media, which provides a popular outlet

for young people to express themselves

in a conservative society. In recent

months women influencers have in-

creasingly come into conflict with a re-

gime that is determined to show that its

harsh treatment of Islamist political

groups such as the Muslim Brother-

hood does not mean it will tolerate lib-

eral mores.

Ms Shimi posed in front of ruins at

Saqqara, the archaeological zone south

of the Great Pyramid and Sphinx con-

Pyramid pose lands model behind bars

raised a complaint against her and the

photographer for breaking rules that

limit the exploitation of the pyramids

for commercial purposes.

It said that punishment was

due to anyone who neglect-

ed to respect Egyptian

heritage.

Ms Shimi’s fate was

unclear yesterday but

police sources con-

firmed that she and

the photographer,

Hossam Mohammed,

had been detained.

That also attracted

criticism on social media.

“Is there really a ban on

taking photographs in archaeo-

logical zones, even pictures that are not

indecent but completely normal?” one

user asked.

A number of women have been jailed

for moral crimes this year for their ac-

tivity on social media.

A leading right-wing MEP and ally of

Viktor Orban, the Hungarian prime

minister, has been arrested at an illegal

sex party in Brussels.

Jozsef Szajer, 59, a founding member

of Mr Orban’s Fidesz party, was injured

jumping from a first-floor window on

Friday night as he tried to flee before he

was arrested with 24 other people.

Some women were present, but those

detained were mostly men, including

European diplomats. They were fined

€250 for breaking the coronavirus cur-

few and social restrictions at the party

above a gay bar in central Brussels.

Police said that Mr Szajer tried to

claim European parliamentary immu-

nity, leading to an intervention by the

Belgian foreign ministry. The Hungari-

an MEP resigned on Sunday without

giving any reason but admitted attend-

ing a “house party”.

The gathering was stopped when of-

ficers from the central Brussels police

station a few yards away surprised the

participants, many of whom were

naked. Police also found drugs, said to

include ecstasy.

The Brussels public prosecutors

office said in a statement that a passer-

by saw a man “fleeing along the gutter”

with bloody hands.

“Narcotics were found in his back-

pack,” the statement said. “The man

was unable to produce any identity

documents. He was escorted to his

place of residence, where he identified

himself as S J (1961) by means of a diplo-

matic passport.”

The prosecutor added: “A report was

also drawn up for S J for violation of the

narcotics legislation. The procedure is

ongoing. Criminal proceedings could

only be brought after the waiver of the

diplomatic or parliamentary immunity

of the above-mentioned persons by the

competent authorities.”

Those arrested included diplomats

linked to the mainstream pan-Europe

Christian Democrats and the conserv-

Orban MEP ally arrested

fleeing Brussels sex party

former judge, is the head of Hungary’s

national office of the judiciary.

They were married in 1983 and have

one child. Mr Szajer attended Balliol

College, Oxford, during the 1980s, the

college at which Boris Johnson was also

a student at the time. The Queen con-

ferred on him the honour of Knight

Commander of the Order of St Michael

and St George in 2000.

In his resignation statement as MEP

with effect from the end of the year, Mr

Szajer pledged his continuing support

for Mr Orban’s battles with the Euro-

pean Union over migration, human

rights and Hungary’s veto of the next

Brussels budget.

“The strenuous give and take of par-

ticipating daily in the political struggle

has become an ever greater burden and

those who are on the battlefield must be

fit for combat,” he said.

A senior European parliament

source said that Mr Szajer was at fault

for breaking Belgium’s pandemic re-

strictions rather than for attending a

gathering described in the local press as

a “lockdown sex orgy”.

“There is nothing wrong with partici-

pating in a sex party of any kind,” the

source said. “However, such kinds of

meetings with many people are illegal

under the coronavirus laws.”

Assita Kanko, a Belgian MEP and

human rights activist, called on all

those arrested to be punished.

“Some never learn,” she tweeted yes-

terday. “Terribly inappropriate. The

MEP present must certainly be pun-

ished. Everyone equal before the law.”

Belgium has imposed a 10pm curfew

and visits to family and friends are not

allowed. Only one close contact is per-

mitted outside the household.

The Brussels prosecutor confirmed

the arrests but refused to comment on

the identities or diplomatic status of

any of those arrested.

“I can confirm that about 20 people

were fined for failure to comply with

health measures following a party or-

ganised on Friday evening,” a spokes-

man said. “The procedure is ongoing.”

Belgium

Bruno Waterfield Brussels

NBC/NBCU PHOTO BANK/GETTY IMAGES

Jozsef Szajer defined marriage as the

union of man and woman in Hungary

Egypt

Magdy Samaan Cairo

Richard Spencer

Middle East Correspondent

taining smaller, earlier pyramids and

numerous burial chambers.

She is said to have entered the area

around the Step Pyramid of Djoser as a

tourist, wearing a black abaya or

cloak, which she then re-

moved to reveal a small

white tunic and sash,

with a serpent crown.

Her poses attract-

ed a mixture of ridi-

cule, criticism and

support when she

posted the pictures

on Instagram.

The ministry of an-

tiquities takes seriously

its role as guardian not only

of the many archaeological

sites in Egypt but also their dignity.

Amid rumours that Ms Shimi had been

arrested, it would only say that it had

due to a

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nine league goals this season.

Popular music performers have in

the past not been granted any kind

of deferment. “For the sake of

fairness we are not talking about

exempting them from their duty,”

said Jeon Yong-gi, an MP with the

ruling Democratic Party of Korea

(DPK) who tabled the bill. “The

careers of pop musicians and

artists like BTS can blossom in

their twenties. We cannot let

military duty block their way

at the height of their

careers.”

Noh Woong-rae, another

DPK MP, agreed: “Military

duty is sacred, but not

everyone has to hold a rifle.

Let them carry out their

duties, but in a way that

benefits the national

interest,” he said. “When

BTS topped the Billboard Hot

100, we saw about 1.7 trillion

won [£1.1 billion] in economic

effects. Their role in boosting

Korea’s prestige to the world is

immeasurable.”

international athletes and classical

musicians.

The Tottenham Hotspur and

South Korea footballer Son Heung-

min completed a shortened, four-

week, national service this year. He

earned exemption from the full

requirement after South Korea

won the Asian Games title in

2018. 
      

During his national service,

Son was pictures in fatigues

and carrying a rifle. As part

of his training in April and

May he was exposed to

tear gas and made to go on

hikes with military kit.

He completed the basic

programme of 544 hours

of community service in

the Marine Corps. At the

time he was also

undergoing treatment

for a wrist injury.

It appears to have

done him little harm: his club

is sitting top of the Premier

League, and Son is second in

the top-scorers charts, with