Counter Terrorism Centre (CTC) (, TEK) is a Hungarian

government agency A government agency or state agency, sometimes an appointed commission, is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government (bureaucracy) that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, s ...

responsible for national and international counter terrorism including detection, prevention and interruption. The agency has a

police tactical unit A police tactical unit (PTU) is a specialized police unit trained and equipped to handle situations that are beyond the capabilities of ordinary law enforcement units because of the level of violence (or risk of violence) involved. The tasks of a ...

to respond terrorist incidents and if requested by law enforcement agencies can provide tactical assistance. TEK provides personal protection including to the

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

and the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

and can also provide an escort for extraditions of dangerous persons to the Hungarian border and from abroad. TEK is under the direct control of the Hungarian Ministry of Interior, headed by

Sándor Pintér Sándor Pintér (born 3 July 1948) is a Hungarian politician and former top police officer. He served as Minister of the Interior from 1998 to 2002 and since 2010, in Viktor Orbán's cabinets. Biography Pintér was born and raised in Budapest. ...

. TEK headquarters is located at Zách street (close to Hungária Boulevard),

Pál Maléter Pál Maléter (4 September 1917 – 16 June 1958) was the military leader of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution who served as minister of defence in the third government of Imre Nagy. Maléter was born to Hungarian parents in Eperjes, a city in ...

Barracks Barracks are buildings used to accommodate military personnel and quasi-military personnel such as police. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word 'soldier's tent', but today barracks ar ...

Kőbánya Kőbánya (, , ) is the 10th district of Budapest () and one of the largest by territory. It is located in southeast Pest (city), Pest, easily accessible from the downtown by Budapest Metro, Metro 3, whose Terminal station, terminus is named ' ...

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

History

TEK was founded by the

Second Cabinet of Viktor Orbán The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of Un ...

on 1 September 2010. According to the Hungarian

ombudsman An ombudsman ( , also ) is a government employee who investigates and tries to resolve complaints, usually through recommendations (binding or not) or mediation. They are usually appointed by the government or by parliament (often with a sign ...

( Máté Szabó), TEK is the most professional, well-financed and well-equipped

state agency A government agency or state agency, sometimes an appointed commission, is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government (bureaucracy) that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, s ...

in the country.

Role

Counter-terrorism Counterterrorism (alternatively spelled: counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, relates to the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, businesses, and intelligence agencies use to co ...

: Preventing terrorist attacks *

Hostage crisis A hostage is a person seized by an abductor in order to compel another party, one which places a high value on the liberty, well-being and safety of the person seized—such as a relative, employer, law enforcement, or government—to act, o ...

: Set to free Hungarian

hostage A hostage is a person seized by an abductor in order to compel another party, one which places a high value on the liberty, well-being and safety of the person seized—such as a relative, employer, law enforcement, or government—to act, o ...

s nationwide and worldwide *

Gun violence Gun-related violence is violence against a person committed with the use of a firearm to inflict a gunshot wound. Gun violence may or may not be considered criminal. Criminal violence includes homicide (except when and where ruled justifiable ...

Bank robbery Bank robbery is the criminal act of stealing from a bank, specifically while bank employees and customers are subjected to force, violence, or a threat of violence. This refers to robbery of a bank Branch (banking), branch or Bank teller, tel ...

School shooting A school shooting is an Gun violence, armed attack at an educational institution, such as a primary school, secondary school, high school or university, involving the use of a firearm. Many school shootings are also categorized as mass shooti ...

*Capturing and arresting dangerous, armed criminals or POIs *Fighting

Organized crime Organized crime is a category of transnational organized crime, transnational, national, or local group of centralized enterprises run to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally thought of as a f ...

: Elimination of

mafia "Mafia", as an informal or general term, is often used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the Sicilian Mafia, original Mafia in Sicily, to the Italian-American Mafia, or to other Organized crime in Italy, organiz ...

organizations *Protecting the

Hungarian government The Government of Hungary () exercises executive (government), executive power in Hungary. It is led by the Prime Minister of Hungary, Prime Minister, and is composed of various ministers. It is the principal organ of public administration. The Pr ...

, politicians, ambassadors and citizens nationwide and worldwide

Equipment

Aside from less lethal options, TEK employ a number of small arms: Detailed information about the equipment of TEK is not public, but according to the Hungarian media, it uses

armoured Armour (Commonwealth English) or armor (American English; see spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contact weapons or projectiles during combat ...

Audi Q7 The Audi Q7 is a crossover SUV made by the German manufacturer Audi, unveiled in September 2005 at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Production of this seven-seater SUV began in November 2005 at the Volkswagen Bratislava Plant in Bratislava, Slovakia. ...

luxury SUV A luxury car is a passenger automobile providing superior comfort levels, features, and equipment. More expensive materials and surface finishes are used, and buyers expect a correspondingly high build quality. The term is relative and unavo ...

s and

BTR-80 The BTR-80 () is an 8×8 wheeled Amphibious vehicle, amphibious armoured personnel carrier (APC) designed in the Soviet Union. It was adopted in 1985 and replaced the previous vehicles, the BTR-60 and BTR-70, in the Soviet Army. It was first de ...

armoured personnel carrier An armoured personnel carrier (APC) is a broad type of armoured military vehicle designed to transport personnel and equipment in combat zones. Since World War I, APCs have become a very common piece of military equipment around the world. Acc ...

s equipped with police light bars on the roof. According to

, the

Minister of Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

, TEK does not use

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engine; ...

Notable operations

On 2010 Units of TEK deployed in order to arrest members of extreme

BDSM BDSM is a variety of often Eroticism, erotic practices or Sexual roleplay, roleplaying involving Bondage (BDSM), bondage, Discipline (BDSM), discipline, dominance and submission, sadomasochism, and other related interpersonal dynamics. Given ...

website Mood Pictures in Budapest On 10 October 2011, during ''

World War Z ''World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War'' is a 2006 zombie apocalyptic horror novel written by American author Max Brooks. The novel is broken into eight chapters: “Warnings”, “Blame”, “The Great Panic”, “Turning the Tid ...

'' filming in Budapest, TEK invaded the crew's stores and also seized several guns, sniper rifles etc. which were used for filming. According to the official statement producers failed to consult with the authorities and despite the import documentation's indication, all weapons were found to be fully functional. Later prosecutor's office dropped the charges in February 2012. On August 13, 2012, three Hungarian nationals were held hostage by Syrian gunmen in

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

. A detachment from TEK was deployed to

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

to set free the

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an Ethnicity, ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common Culture of Hungary, culture, Hungarian language, language and History of Hungary, history. They also have a notable presence in former pa ...

. They arrived in Budapest on August 27, 2012, without injury. In 2015 and 2016 the Europe-wide terrorist attacks and threat resulted in increased funds and constant readiness for TEK. They cooperated with the army and police to secure & patrol Budapest after the March 22 Brussels attacks.

Controversy

In 2015, Hungarian President

János Áder János Áder (; born 9 May 1959) is a Hungarian politician and lawyer who served as President of Hungary from 2012 to 2022. He is a long-time politician of the Right-wing politics, right-wing Fidesz. As a representative of his party, he took par ...

removed the TEK as his personal security after his conversations with Prime Minister Orbán indicated that the TEK were secretly informing Orbán of Áder's private meetings. In the spring of 2018, former deputy head of the TEK, Brigadier General Zsolt Bodnár, was targeted with

Pegasus spyware Pegasus is spyware developed by the Israeli cyber-arms company NSO Group that is designed to be covertly and remotely installed on mobile phones running iOS and Android. While NSO Group markets Pegasus as a product for fighting crime and terro ...

following his departure from the TEK and conflicts between Bodnár and TEK director János Hajdú. In February 2025, the TEK's tactical unit was secretly deployed to

Republika Srpska Republika Srpska ( sr-Cyrl, Република Српска, ; also referred to as the Republic of Srpska or Serb Republic) is one of the two Political divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, entities within Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other bein ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

to extract

Milorad Dodik Milorad Dodik ( sr-Cyrl, Милорад Додик, ; born 12 March 1959) is a Bosnian Serb politician currently serving as the 8th president of Republika Srpska since 2022, a position he previously held from 2010 to 2018. He also served as ...

, the President of Republika Srpska, to Hungary. Dodik was being prosecuted for signing laws that nullified rulings of the Bosnian Constitutional Court and the

High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina The High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, together with the Office of the High Representative (OHR) in Bosnia and Herzegovina, was created in 1995 immediately after the signing of the Dayton Agreement which ended the 1992 to 1995 Bos ...

. The TEK reportedly deployed 70 officers, armored vehicles, and a mobile command center under the personal command of its commander János Hajdú, to Republika Srpska under the false auspices of a training exercise in order to extract Dodik in the scenario that the Constitutional Court ordered his detention. According to the Bosnian foreign ministry, the TEK's entry into the country was not authorized, their presence was condemned by Bosnia's defense minister

Zukan Helez Zukan Helez (born 1 January 1964) is a Bosnian politician serving as Minister of Defence since January 2023. He is also the current Vice-chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, serving alongside Staša Košarac. He was ...

, and led to a formal protest from the foreign ministry and a request for Hungary's removal from EUFOR's ALTHEA mission.

References

Bibliography

External links

Budget of the Hungarian Ministry of Interior - State agencies 2012
{{commons category, Counter Terrorism Centre Law enforcement in Hungary Law enforcement units Non-military counterterrorist organizations Counterterrorism and the European Union Hungarian intelligence agencies National security institutions ATLAS Network