BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) – Hungary’s conservative president has resigned amid public backlash over a pardon he granted to a man convicted of being an accomplice in a child sex abuse case. The decision sparked an unprecedented political scandal for the long-ruling nationalist government.
Katalin Novak, 46, announced in a televised message on Saturday that she would step down from the presidential position she has held since 2022.
Protesters hold placards in front of the presidential palace in Budapest, February 9, 2024, in opposition to Hungarian President Katalin Novak’s secret pardon of an accomplice of a convicted child molester. Participating in meetings. (Photo credit: Ferenc ISZA/AFP) (Photo credit: FERENC ISZA/AFP via Getty Images)
Her decision comes more than a week after it was revealed in April 2023 that she had granted a presidential pardon to a man convicted of covering up a spate of child sexual abuse in state-run children’s homes. The decision was made after the anger of the people.
“My pardon has caused confusion and anxiety to many people,” Novak said Saturday. “I made a mistake.”
