Source: theguardian.com 2/10/24
The Hungarian president has announced her resignation over her decision to pardon a man convicted of helping cover up a sex abuse case at a children’s home as the controversy posed a challenge for Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán.
The pardon decision was made last year but only caught the public’s attention over the past days after a report by the local news site 444.hu, which was met with outrage, leading Hungary’s opposition to call for Katalin Novák to step down.
“I made a mistake,” Novák said in a televised address aired on Saturday, when she announced her resignation and issued an apology to any victims who felt she had not stood with them.
The President of Hungary resigned over a pardon given to a man convicted of helping cover up sex abuse of minors at a hospital after a so-called public outcry. Notably, in response, a Constitutional amendment was quickly passed outlawing pardons for people convicted of crimes against children. Other serious crimes can still be pardoned. Is Europe ultimately going to follow in America’s footsteps?
An interesting article
I read about this on a newsfeed before the article got posted. I understand the Hungarian president being in hot water for pardoning someone that covered up child sex abuse at a state institution. But the government proposing a constitutional amendment that prevents pardons for crimes against children? First, they need to define those crimes which I assume are also inclusive of being non-sexual in nature. I don’t think the US will follow Hungary’s footsteps due to America’s high number of false convictions…especially for minorities. Plus Hungary is a qausi-dictatorship. I feel American governors would like to keep their options open for questionable cases of guilt that resurface. I believe a woman just got released from prison for being for being falsely convicted of killing her 4 children, and the Australian government pardoned her. And I’m sure there’s a slew of people in our country falsely accused of child sex crimes, but never formally had those convictions overturned. They’ll be expecting pardons from state governors. But it wouldn’t be possible if governors or the president is handcuffed by a constitutional amendment.
This lady is a member of Viktor Orban’s party that passed a law banning any portrayal of LGBT people to children under 18. All teenage support organizations are banned from schools and other public institutions. Yet the president of the country pardons someone who covered up sexual abuse of children in state institutions. Hungary’s politicians must not care too much about protecting children, as long as they procreate and “the gay” doesn’t rub off on them.