On Wednesday, the Hungarian authoritarian regime formally charged Gergely Karácsony, the liberal mayor of Budapest, in connection with his role in organising an LGBTQ+ Pride event last year, which had been deemed illegal by the government. Mayor Karácsony, in office since 2019, has been the subject of a police investigation following the Pride march on 28 June 2025, despite a prohibition issued by Hungary’s nationalist government. This event marked a significant milestone as the largest Pride celebration in the country’s history, with organisers estimating that approximately 300,000 people attended.
The Budapest Chief Prosecutor’s Office released a statement indicating that Karácsony has been charged with organising an unlawful assembly in violation of the ban. They recommended that he be fined without a trial. According to prosecutors, Karácsony publicly disregarded the police order prohibiting the Pride march, repeated calls for participation, and led the march himself.
Responding to the charges, Mayor Karácsony issued a statement expressing his pride in standing up for his principles. He stated, “In this country, this is the price you pay for advocating your own freedom and the freedom of others. If anyone believes they can deter me or my city from this pursuit, they are gravely mistaken.”
Karácsony did not dispute the prosecution’s depiction of his role in the march, writing: “That is exactly what happened.”
He added: “I will never accept, nor resign myself to, the idea that in my homeland it could be a crime to stand up for freedom. I will never tolerate this, and despite every threat and every punishment, I will fight it, because when people who want to live, to love, to be happy are simply betrayed by their own country, betrayed by their government, resistance is a duty.”
In March 2025, the far-right Prime Minister Viktor Orbán‘s ruling party, Fidesz, enacted a significant and controversial law concerning LGBTQ+ rights, which effectively banned Pride events. This legislation also authorised authorities to use facial recognition technology to identify individuals participating in these celebrations. The government has justified this law by claiming that Pride events are incompatible with children’s rights to moral and spiritual development. A constitutional amendment, passed the previous year, reinforced the notion that these rights take precedence over other fundamental protections, including the right to peaceful assembly.
Additionally, prior legislation, such as a 2021 law prohibiting minors under the age of 18 from accessing any content depicting homosexuality, has been criticised by human rights organisations and European officials as repressive towards sexual minorities. These developments have drawn parallels to similar restrictions observed in Russia, raising concerns about the protection of fundamental rights within Hungary.
This article used information from The Associated Press.
