Hungarian prosecutors have charged Budapest Mayor Gergely Karacsony over his role in arranging last year’s gay pride march in the capital city, which attracted hundreds of thousands of people despite a ban.
Prosecutors have “filed charges and seek a fine against the mayor of Budapest, who organised and led a public gathering despite a police ban”, their office said in a statement announcing the case on Wednesday.
“The district prosecutor’s office proposed that the court impose a fine on the defendant in a summary judgement without a trial,” the statement added without including the amount of the fine sought against Karacsony.
Since returning to power in 2010, Prime Minister Viktor Orban has been tightening his grip over the country and has targeted groups advocating for human rights.
Orban’s conservative government has also pushed for legislation promoting traditional family values and steadily rolled back LGBTQ rights.
In 2025, his Fidesz party amended laws and the constitution to ban the annual pride march, drawing protests from critics and the European Union.
After the ban was imposed last year, Budapest City Hall stepped in to co-organise the annual event to try to sidestep the regulations, but police still issued their objections, and Orban warned organisers and attendees of “legal consequences”.
On Wednesday, Karacsony reacted to the charges by saying he went from a “proud suspect to a proud defendant”.
“They don’t even want a trial … because they can’t even comprehend that here in this city, we have stood up for freedom in the face of a selfish, petty, and despicable power,” he said on Facebook.
Credit: aljazeera.com
