Hungary's President Resigns Over Child Sexual Abuse Pardon

Katalin Novak, Hungary's president since March 2022, announced her resignation on Saturday, April 15, 2023, following public outrage over a presidential pardon she granted in April 2023 to a man convicted of covering up a string of child sexual abuses. At least 1,000 people protested in the capital. Novak's decision came after more than a week of growing calls for her to step down. The controversy posed a political headache for Hungary's nationalist governing party Fidesz and its leader, Viktor Orbán. Judit Varga, the former minister of justice who approved the pardon, also resigned. The pardon decision was made in 2023 but only came to public attention over the past few days. Novak became the first woman to hold the ceremonial role of president and is known for her advocacy of traditional values. The man pardoned, a former deputy director of a state-run children's home, was sentenced to more than three years in prison in 2018 for helping cover up sexual abuse committed by the institution's director. Novak insisted there had not been and would not be pardons for pedophiles. Orbán has campaigned on protecting children from what he describes as LGBTQ activists in schools.