Mass protest in Hungary over child-abuse case
In Hungary, a wave of protests has erupted, with tens of thousands of people taking to the streets in response to a presidential pardon granted in a highly controversial child sexual abuse case that has deeply unsettled the nation.
The protesters converged at the iconic Heroes’ Square in Budapest to express their solidarity with the victims of abuse. Last week, President Katalin Novak and two prominent members of Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s Fidesz party resigned in the wake of the outcry sparked by the pardon.
Additionally, Bishop Zoltan Balog, who had advised the prime minister and supported Novak’s decision to pardon the deputy director of a children’s home convicted of covering up sexual abuse, has also stepped down.
The scandal surrounding the case represents the most significant challenge to Orban’s conservative leadership since he assumed power in 2010, according to BBC correspondent Nick Thorpe in Budapest.
During the demonstration titled “There are monsters out there,” held on Friday, Heroes’ Square was filled with a sea of people, primarily young Hungarians, rallying against child abuse and advocating for social solidarity. The event explicitly requested that political parties refrain from participation, emphasizing its grassroots nature.
Orban’s government has long championed family values as a cornerstone of its policies. The prime minister is expected to outline the government’s response to the crisis in his upcoming State of the Nation address on Saturday.
Katalin Novak stepped down last week, apologizing for “a mistake” in granting the pardon.
The controversy which led to the resignations came after the names of 25 people pardoned by Ms Novak in April last year, as part of a visit to Hungary by Pope Francis, were made public by Hungarian media.
On the list of convicts was the deputy director of a children’s home near Budapest, who had been jailed for three years after forcing children to retract claims of abuse against the director of the home.
The director had himself been jailed for eight years over abusing children at the government-run facility.
