Hungarian president resigns after scandal over pardon of convict

Katalin Novák, the Hungarian President, has resigned following a significant public outcry over her decision to pardon a man convicted of sexual abuse in an orphanage.

Source: European Pravda; Index

Quote from Novák: "I made a mistake. The decision to pardon and the lack of justification could have raised doubts. There are no and cannot be any doubts. I would never pardon anyone who abuses children. It is our shared responsibility to protect children."

Details: Novák added that as a Hungarian, she expects the new president not to make mistakes, and if they do, they will take responsibility, even by resigning from office.

"I apologise to those I offended and to all the victims who may have felt that I did not support them," Novák said.

A new Hungarian president must be elected by parliament within 30 days after the end of the previous president’s term.

Background:

• The scandal that has recently erupted is related to Katalin Novák's decision to pardon about two dozen people in April 2023, on the eve of the Pope's visit.

• Among them was the deputy director of an orphanage who helped the former director conceal crimes. The director was sentenced to 8 years in prison for sexually abusing several underage boys in 2004-2016.

• Hungary's opposition parties then demanded Novak's resignation.

• The day before, at least a thousand people protested in Budapest, demanding Novak's resignation over her decision to pardon a man convicted as an accomplice in a cover-up of the sexual abuse case in the orphanage.

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