Hungary’s president pardoned a man who covered up child sex abuse at an orphanage and people want justice.
Protestors hold banners during a demonstration titled “Monsters are out there now” against child abuse and for a healthy society at Heroes’ Square on February 16, 2024 in Budapest, Hungary. (Photo by Janos Kummer/Getty Images)
In 2019, the director of an orphanage was sentenced to eight years in prison for forcing at least 10 boys in his care to perform sexual acts between 2004 and 2016.
Protestors hold banners during a demonstration titled “Monsters are out there now” against child abuse and for a healthy society at Heroes’ Square on February 16, 2024 in Budapest, Hungary. (Photo by Janos Kummer/Getty Images)
His deputy was also sentenced to more than three years for helping him to cover it up by pressuring victims to retract their testimonies.
People hold torches and banner which reads ‘No mercy for pedophiles’ during a stand for abused young people and children protection on February 21, 2024 in Budapest, Hungary. (Photo by Janos Kummer/Getty Images)
In February, an independent local news outlet revealed that Hungarian president Katalin Novák had pardoned the deputy director in April 2023.
Newly elected Hungarian President Katalin Novak is pictured after she took her oath as representatives of the Hungarian parliament approved her appointment as the new president at the parliament building in Budapest on March 10, 2022. (Photo by ATTILA KISBENEDEK/AFP via Getty Images)
The revelation of the cover-up sparked an immediate uproar among the public, with dozens of influencers, including popular artist Azahriah, calling for a protest in Budapest’s iconic Heroes’ Square.
Tens of thousands of people marched to Novák’s office to demand she step down, as well as demanding increased transparency and stronger protections for victims of abuse, according to Reuters.
Tens of thousands of people protested in Budapest on Friday February 16, 2024 at the biggest rally against Viktor Orban’s government for years. (Photo by Balint Szentgallay/NurPhoto)
Faced with ongoing mass protests, Novák announced on Feb. 10 she would resign, saying she had made a mistake.
Novák said she made a mistake “in believing that the convict did not exploit the vulnerability of children whom he had overseen.”
People march with torches during a stand for abused young people and children protection on February 21, 2024 in Budapest, Hungary. (Photo by Janos Kummer/Getty Images)
Another key ally of the long-standing conservative Prime Minister Orbán, former Justice Minister Judit Varga, also stepped down from her parliamentary seat due to her support for the pardon.
Protesters holding placards take part in a rally in Budapest in front of the Presidental offices on February 9, 2024. (Photo by Ferenc ISZA / AFP)
Varga was anticipated to lead Fidesz in the upcoming European Parliament elections in June.
The resignations of these two prominent female MPs from Hungary’s predominantly male government deal a significant blow to Orbán as his party gears up for the crucial European Union elections.
On Feb. 16, a Calvinist bishop who was a former government minister also resigned from the church, after it was revealed he had asked Novák to issue the pardon R
People march with torches during a stand for abused young people and children protection on February 21, 2024 in Budapest, Hungary. (Photo by Janos Kummer/Getty Images)
The scandal is a massive blow to far-right prime minister Viktor Orbán’s government, which has long pushed conservative “traditional family values”.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban delivers a speech in front of the National Museum during Hungary’s National Day celebrations on March 15, 2019 in Budapest, Hungary. (Photo by Laszlo Balogh/Getty Images)
Orbán has promised to introduce new laws to protect children.
He put forward an amendment to the Hungarian Constitution, which would forbid heads of state from pardoning anyone involved in child sexual abuse cases.
Despite the resignations, thousands of people are continuing to demonstrate against Orbán’s government in some of the biggest protests in Budapest in years
A protester holds up a placard reading ‘Orban – Get out!’ in front of Sandor Palace, the Hungarian Presidential Palace, in Budapest on February 14, 2024, during a demonstration organized by the Hungarian parliamentary Momentum Movement party. (Photo by ATTILA KISBENEDEK / AFP)
Orbán’s government also announced a new law involving inspections of staff at state orphanages, which house 7,000 children.
Protestor holds banner “99% to pedofilia” during a demonstration titled “Monsters are out there now” against child abuse and for a healthy society at Heroes’ Square on February 16, 2024 in Budapest, Hungary. (Photo by Janos Kummer/Getty Images)
He also said that the president and former justice minister accepted full responsibility, and the government considered the matter closed.
Protestors hold banners during a demonstration titled “Monsters are out there now” against child abuse and for a healthy society at Heroes’ Square on February 16, 2024 in Budapest, Hungary. (Photo by Janos Kummer/Getty Images)