Viktor Orban's resignation is demanded in the streets. Thousands protest in Budapest after abuses committed in a juvenile detention center
The Hungarian pro-European opposition led by Peter Magyar organized a demonstration in Budapest on Saturday night, following the scandal caused by the abuses committed in a detention center for juvenile delinquents.
Thousands of people in the streets in Budapest PHOTO: Peter Magyar
According to news agencies, the number of participants varied between a few thousand, according to Reuters, and more than 50,000.
Protesters called for the resignation of conservative Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government and carried stuffed animals, chanting messages such as “Protect the children!” and “Orban, resign!”writes Agerpres.
The scandal erupted after a video released this week by a former MP and opposition activist showed abuses committed years ago at the detention centre.
Following the revelations, the director of the center resigned, while one of his predecessors was already under investigation for money laundering, human trafficking and pimping. At the same time, four employees of the center are in preventive detention.
The Hungarian government has decided to place five similar centers under direct police supervision, and prosecutors are investigating the case.
Peter Magyar used the situation to intensify criticism of Viktor Orban, arguing that such scandals demonstrate a lack of control over public institutions that are supposed to protect minors in distress.
Magyar also published an official report from 2021 which indicated that more than 20% of institutionalized children were victims of abuse.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban condemned the abuses, stressing that the center in question “it's actually a kind of prison” for juvenile delinquents, “most committing serious crimes, including murder.”
At the same time, Orban added that “the way a warden treated a young offender in that delicate situation is unacceptable.”
Peter Magyar, a former ally of Orban, became his political opponent after divorcing Judit Varga, a former justice minister and ally of the prime minister.
Magyar resigned from the Fidesz party early last year and founded the Tisza party, a centre-right pro-European party backed by Brussels and critical of Orban's sovereignist policies.
Tisza quickly established itself as the main opposition party and came second in the European Parliament elections, after Fidesz, with almost 30% of the vote. Some recent polls indicate that Tisza may overtake Fidesz in voting intentions.
