Tens of thousands protest in Budapest, demanding PM Viktor Orban’s resignation over child abuse scandals in state-run institutions
BUDAPEST: Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in the Hungarian capital on Saturday demanding Prime Minister Viktor Orban resign over perceived inaction on child abuse allegations in state-run institutions.
The demonstration was called by opposition leader Peter Magyar, whose TISZA party leads opinion polls ahead of spring parliamentary elections.
It followed fresh allegations of abuse at a juvenile detention centre in the capital.
“Normally a government would be toppled after a case like this,” 16-year-old David Kozak told AFP.
“For them the problem is not that the abuses happened, but that they were revealed.”
Protesters, some brandishing children’s toys, were led by Magyar who held a banner reading “Let’s protect children”.
The latest scandal erupted after CCTV footage showed the then director of the Szolo Street juvenile detention centre kicking a boy in the head.
Four staff members were taken into custody this week, prompting the government to place all such facilities under police supervision.
Three other employees, including a former director accused of running a prostitution ring, were arrested earlier.
“We should be outraged at what is being done with the most vulnerable children,” said 73-year-old pensioner Zsuzsa Szalay at the protest.
On Friday, Magyar released a previously unpublished 2021 official report finding over a fifth of children in state-run care institutions had been abused.
The government insists action is being taken against suspected child abuse.
The interior ministry stated the 2021 report was passed to relevant authorities in 2022 “to assist their work”.
Orban has condemned the latest abuse case, saying even “young criminals should not be treated this way”.
Last year, President Katalin Novak was forced to resign after pardoning a convicted child abuser’s accomplice.
That scandal shook Orban’s inner circle and helped fuel the rise of Magyar, a former government insider. – AFP
