Hungary Budapest mayor charged with organizing Pride
The public prosecutor's office in Budapest has charged the mayor of the Hungarian capital, Gergely Karacsony, with organizing last year's Pride parade.
28.01.2026, 16:00
SDA
The green-liberal politician violated the law on public assembly because he called for and led a public rally that was banned by the police, according to a statement from the public prosecutor's office for the 5th and 13th districts of Budapest.
The annual Budapest Pride took place on June 28, 2025 with around 200,000 people in attendance. The right-wing populist Prime Minister Viktor Orban had amended the Assembly Act in the course of a homophobic campaign so that he was able to obtain a police ban on the event.
However, Karacsony had declared Pride to be an event organized by the city of Budapest, which meant that it no longer fell under the provisions of the Assembly Act. The public prosecutor's office, which is controlled by people loyal to Orban, nevertheless initiated criminal proceedings against the head of the city. Pride parades stand up for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer (LGBTQ) people worldwide.
At the same time, the authority wants to avoid a court case. It is applying for a fine to be imposed by means of a penalty order without an oral hearing, according to the press release.
"From a proud suspect, I became a proud defendant," Karacsony wrote on his Facebook page. He added that anyone who thinks this will stop him and the citizens of Budapest from defending freedom "is very much mistaken".
Parliamentary elections are due to be held in Hungary on April 12. According to opinion polls, Orban could lose them to his conservative challenger Peter Magyar. The latter had not openly expressed solidarity with Pride last year, but at the same time emphasized that under his government no one would be prevented from exercising their constitutional freedom of assembly.
