Hungarian president Áder pardons homebirth midwife Geréb

President János Áder has pardoned homebirth midwife Ágnes Geréb, who was earlier sentenced to imprisonment, according to a statement published on the president’s website.

The president’s pardon does not affect parts of the earlier sentence barring Geréb from practising her profession for ten years, nor does it remove her criminal record, the website said.

It added that the president had made its decision under relevant stipulations of the constitution at the proposal of the justice minister.

Geréb was arrested by police in October 2010. In February 2012 the appeal court in Budapest sentenced her to two years in prison in connection with two cases of home births. One involved assisting with the birth of twins, one of whom was stillborn. In the other case, she assisted in the birth of a baby who suffered severe complications and died six months later.

Geréb, who has been under house arrest, was set to be jailed on March 6,

but the justice ministry decided to postpone implementation of the sentence and elevated the case to the president.

Photo: alfahir.hu

Source: MTI