Use of facial recognition Record Pride in Budapest could be followed by record penalties
The large Pride parade in Budapest with a record number of over 200,000 participants could be followed by record fines, according to fears from opposition politicians.
29.06.2025, 15:20
SDA
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- A record number of people took part in the Pride parade in the Hungarian capital Budapest despite a police ban.
- Opposition politicians fear that participants will be fined and the organizers are threatened with prison.
- The liberal mayor of Budapest, Gergely Karacsony, was the main organizer of this year's Pride.
Hundreds of thousands of people defied Orbán's Pride ban and marched through Budapest on Saturday for the rights of sexual minorities. Opposition politicians fear that they could soon face the consequences.
Numerous police camera vans were deployed on Saturday and facial recognition software was being used, wrote non-party MP Akos Hadhazy on his Facebook page. "The next few days will show what the cameras can do."
In fact, the police controlled by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán had banned this year's Pride in advance, which, like other parades around the world, stands up for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer (LGBTQ) people.
The authority was referring to new legislation that the right-wing populist Orbán had created. This means that gatherings at which non-heterosexual lifestyles and behaviors are made visible can now be banned.
Facial recognition software for identification
The police did not intervene during the parade on Saturday. However, the amended law stipulates that participants in an assembly declared "illegal" can be fined the equivalent of 500 euros. The law also allows the use of facial recognition software to identify participants.
Those affected can appeal against fines in court. However, they are collected by the tax office immediately after they are imposed for alleged violations of the Assembly Act. The organizers of an "illegal" assembly also face prison sentences of up to one year. The liberal mayor of Budapest, Gergely Karacsony, was the main organizer of this year's Pride.
MP Hadhazy, who repeatedly organizes protests against the government himself, referred in his Facebook post to the possible further consequences of the repressive assembly law. A Pride only takes place once a year, he wrote, but longer-lasting waves of protest, triggered by electoral fraud for example, could be efficiently suppressed by the permanent imposition of heavy fines.
The next parliamentary elections are scheduled for spring 2026. The latest opinion polls show Orbán's Fidesz party trailing behind the new Tisza party of conservative challenger Péter Magyar by 11 to 15 percentage points.
