Katalin Novák: Hungary's First Woman President Resigns Over Child Sexual Abuse Scandal

 HIGHLIGHTS: 

Hungary's conservative president has resigned amid public backlash over his pardon of a man convicted of being an accomplice in a child sex abuse case. The decision sparked an unprecedented political scandal for the long-standing nationalist government.

 Katalin Novak, 46, announced in a televised message on Saturday that she would step down from the post of president, which she has held since 2022. Her decision comes as she granted a presidential pardon in April 2023 to a man convicted of covering up a series of child sex abuse cases in state orphanages. 

http://www.5minutesnews.com/2024/02/russia-says-biden-boosting-his.html

The decision came after more than a week of public outrage. "My pardon has caused confusion and anxiety for many people," Novak said  Saturday. "I made a mistake." Novak's resignation is a rare  political upset for Hungary's nationalist ruling Fidesz party, which has held a constitutional majority since 2010.

http://www.5minutesnews.com/2024/02/us-uk-strike-36-houthi-targets-in-yemen.html

Under the leadership of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, Fidesz is accused of dismantling democratic institutions and manipulating electoral systems and the  media to its advantage. Novak, a key ally of Mr Orbán  and  former Fidesz vice president, served as Hungary's home minister before being appointed president. She openly advocates traditional family values ​​and child protection. She was the first female president in Hungarian history and the youngest person to  hold the office. 

However, her sentence ended when she pardoned a man who was sentenced to more than three years in prison in 2018 for pressuring victims to recant sexual abuse claims from facility directors. The facility director was later sentenced to eight years in prison for abusing her. At least 10 children were sentenced in 2004 and 2016. 

"Based on the request for clemency and the information available, I decided to request a pardon last April, convinced that the convicts were not taking advantage of the vulnerability of the children entrusted to them." Novak said Saturday. 

"I made a mistake because the pardon decision  and  lack of justification could have called into question zero tolerance for pedophilia. But it is here, there is no doubt about it. ”

The pardon also involved Judith Varga, another key Fidesz figure who supported the pardon as Hungary's Minister of Justice at the time. Varga was expected to top the list of Fidesz candidates in the European Parliament in this summer's elections. 

However, in a Facebook post on Saturday, Varga took political responsibility for insisting on the pardon, announcing that he was "retiring from public life and resigning  as a member of parliament and  as chairman of the EP List."