Hungarian President Katalin Nowak has resigned. She was criticized for pardoning a convicted person in a case of violence in an orphanage

Hungarian President Katalin Nowak has announced her resignation after criticism over her decision to pardon a convicted person in a case of sexualized abuse at an orphanage, Reuters reports .

“I made a mistake. “Today is the last day that I address you as president,” Novak quoted Reuters as saying on Hungarian television.

Hungarian opposition parties demanded Novak's resignation after she decided to pardon the deputy director of an orphanage convicted of covering up sexualized violence at the institution.

Novak’s decision to pardon about 20 people was known back in April 2023, before the Pope’s visit to the country. However, in early February, the Hungarian publication 444.hu reported , citing court documents, that the list of names to be pardoned included the deputy director of an orphanage in the city of Bicske named K. Endre, who helped his boss cover up several cases of sexualized violence. In addition, he wrote one child a text refusing to testify, which he had to voice.

In total, at least 10 boys who were raised in this orphanage spoke about violence between 2004 and 2016. The court sentenced the deputy director of the orphanage to three years and four months in prison.

Nowak's decision to pardon caused numerous protests from several Hungarian opposition parties. On Friday, February 9, more than a thousand people gathered in Budapest for a protest demanding Novak’s resignation. Some opposition figures also called on Orban's ruling Fidesz party to recall its lawmaker and former Justice Minister Judit Varga, who signed the pardon agreement. Novak herself said that during her presidency “there was and will not be a pardon for pedophiles.”

• Katalin Nowak took office as president in March 2022, becoming the first woman in the country's history to hold this position.
• Politico calls Novak a close ally of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and the former “minister without portfolio” (Secretary of State) for Family and Youth Affairs of his government.