News
Hungarian President Resigns Amidst Child Abuse Controversy
Eko Hot Blog reports that Hungarian President Katalin Novak has announced her resignation on Saturday following outrage sparked in the central European country by a decision to pardon a man implicated in child sexual abuse case.
Katalin Novak
“I am resigning my post,” said the close ally of Prime Minister Viktor Orban, acknowledging that she had made “a mistake”.
“I apologise to those who I hurt and all the victims who may have had the impression that I did not support them. I am, I was and I will remain in favour of protecting children and families,” Novak, 46, said.
Novak, a former minister for family policy became the first woman to hold the essentially ceremonial role of president in March 2022.
The controversy was sparked by the pardon given last April, amid a visit by Pope Francis to Budapest, to a former deputy director of a children’s home who helped to cover up his boss sexually abusing kids and adolescents there.
Since the independent news site 444 revealed the decision last week, the country’s opposition has been calling for Novak’s resignation.
Minutes after her announcement, another ally of Orban, Judit Varga, also announced her “withdrawal from public life” for having given her approval for the pardon as justice minister — a post she quit in order to lead a European Parliament election bid.
Katalin Novak During a visit to Tanzania
“I renounce my mandate as an MP and the head of the list for the European Parliament,” she said on Facebook.
Click To Watch Our Video Of The Week
Advertise or Publish a Story on EkoHot Blog:
Kindly contact us at [email protected]. Breaking stories should be sent to the above email and substantiated with pictorial evidence.
Citizen journalists will receive a token as data incentive.
Call or Whatsapp: 0803 561 7233, 0703 414 5611
