Prime Minister Péter Magyar responded to this information by saying that "the dominoes are collapsing." According to him, it remains unclear who asked Bishop Balog to act in favor of Endre, who was convicted of assisting a pedophile. Magyar noted that this is a crucial question that could potentially broaden the scope of responsibility within the case. Telex ↗ HVG ↗
According to available sources, Schanda claims that no proposal for clemency for Endre came from other parties. This new information has revived the debate about transparency in the processes governing clemency decisions and about the role of individual actors in this case. The case has highlighted the need for a full clarification of all the circumstances surrounding President Novák's decision. Index.hu ↗
Background: what the case is about
This is a continuation of the Hungarian presidential clemency case, which in 2024 led to the resignation of President Katalin Novák. The director of a children's home in Bicske near Budapest sexually abused minor boys between 2004 and 2016. His deputy — referred to in Hungarian media as "K. Endre" — was convicted of coercion: he forced one of the victims to withdraw her accusation. He received a prison sentence of three years and four months. President Novák granted him clemency on April 27, 2023, the day before Pope Francis's visit.When the case became public on February 2, 2024, it triggered a wave of outrage. Novák resigned as president on February 10. Former Minister of Justice Judit Varga, who had co-signed the clemency, gave up her parliamentary mandate and withdrew from heading Fidesz's list for the European elections. Zoltán Balog — a Reformed bishop, a former minister in Viktor Orbán's government, and Novák's spiritual mentor — admitted on February 13 that he had supported the clemency, and on February 16 he also resigned as head of the Reformed Church. This is precisely why Schanda's testimony from May 23, 2026, is significant: for the first time, the former head of the presidential cabinet directly confirms that it was indeed Balog who actively and repeatedly requested the clemency.
