Hungarian President of the Republic Resigns

Hungarian President Katalin Novák announced her resignation in a speech aired on television Sunday evening. The move comes after her decision to pardon a man last year who had been convicted of concealing a string of child sexual abuses in a state-run children’s home.

"In April last year, I decided in favor of granting pardon in the belief that the convicted did not take advantage of the vulnerability of the children entrusted to his care. I made a mistake, because the decision to grant pardon and the absence of the reasons behind it allowed for doubts to be raised in connection with the policy of zero tolerance on child sexual abuse. However, there is no room for doubt here, and there cannot be any. I would never grant pardon to anyone whom I thought abused children physically or psychologically," she said in her speech of resignation.

Her resignation comes after a public outcry as the news of the April 2023 pardoning decision had emerged.

The then justice minister, Judit Varga, who countersigned that pardon decision, has now announced her withdrawal from public life.