Hungarian President Katalin Novak, faced with a wave of indignation for having pardoned a person involved in sexual abuse of children, presented his resignation this Saturday.
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“I am resigning from my position,” declared Novak, politically close to Prime Minister Viktor Orban, acknowledging having made “a mistake.”
“I apologize to those I hurt and to all the victims who may have had the impression that I did not support them. I am, was and will continue to be in favor of protecting children and families,” added the former Minister of Community Affairs. Family, 46 years old.
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Novak became the first female president of this central European country in 2022a mainly protocol function.
The controversy broke out as a result of the pardon granted in April 2023, during Pope Francis' visit to Budapest, to a former deputy director of a home for minors, who was sentenced in 2022 to more than three years in prison for covering up the abuse. director's sexual relations with children and adolescents at the center.
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I apologize to those I hurt and to all victims who may have gotten the impression that I did not support them.
The country's opposition had been calling for Novak's resignation since the independent news portal 444 revealed the decision last week. Since then, opposition organizations and political parties considered this pardon “unacceptable.”
It should be noted that the controversial pardon was granted in April 2023 on the occasion of Pope Francis' visit to Budapest.
In response to the controversy, Orbán proposed this week a constitutional amendment that would prohibit future pardons of those convicted of crimes against children, which many already interpreted as an indirect criticism of Novák and Varga's decision.
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Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
On Friday afternoon, thousands of Hungarians gathered in front of the presidential headquarters in Buda Castle, calling for Novák's resignation, believing that she is no longer worthy of the position.
The presidential position in Hungary has primarily representative attributes, although it also includes signing pardons for prisoners at the proposal of the Government.
A few minutes after the resignation, Another of Orban's allies, Judit Varga, also announced her “retirement from public life” for having approved the pardon. as Minister of Justice, a position she had previously left to lead a bid for elections to the European Parliament.
“I am resigning from my position as deputy and head of the European Parliament list,” she said on Facebook.
INTERNATIONAL EDITORIAL
*With information from AFP and EFE
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