Prosecutors in Hungary have filed charges against Budapest’s opposition mayor, Gergely Karacsony, seeking to fine him for organizing the city’s Pride parade last June despite an official ban, according to the district prosecutor’s office. The office said it has asked the court to issue a summary judgment imposing a fine without a trial, but did not disclose the amount sought.
The case stems from a Pride parade that organizers said drew more than 200,000 people, a record turnout and a pointed rebuke of Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s yearslong clampdown on LGBTQ rights under the banner of “child protection.”
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After Orban declared his intention to ban the celebration, his ruling coalition codified provisions into law and the constitution designed to prohibit the annual march. Budapest City Hall stepped in to co-organize the event in an attempt to navigate the new restrictions, but police still issued a ban, and Orban warned organizers and attendees of “legal consequences.”
Karacsony said he went from a “proud suspect to a proud defendant” in response to the charges. “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 wrote on Facebook.
The mayor was questioned by authorities in August. Under the measures cited by police, he could have faced up to one year in prison for organizing and urging participation in a banned rally.
Participants in the parade risked fines of up to €500, but police announced in July they would not take action against attendees.
The proposed summary judgment against Karacsony, a prominent rival of Orban who leads the capital’s city hall, underscores the heightened legal pressure around public demonstrations that challenge the government’s policies on LGBTQ expression. While prosecutors have asked the court to decide the matter without a hearing, it was not immediately clear when a ruling might be issued.
The Pride march proceeded amid the ban, drawing an unprecedented crowd onto Budapest’s streets and placing the city government in direct conflict with national authorities. The clash highlighted the divide between the capital’s leadership and the ruling coalition over the scope of newly adopted rules that aim to restrict LGBTQ visibility in public life.
Karacsony’s office did not immediately provide additional details about the case beyond his public statement. The prosecutor’s announcement did not indicate whether further legal steps were being considered against other organizers.
Even as police opted against sanctioning participants, the move to charge the mayor signals that Hungarian authorities remain intent on enforcing the ban’s provisions against those deemed responsible for coordinating the event. The court’s handling of the requested fine will be closely watched by rights advocates and opposition figures who view the case as a test of how far the new restrictions will be applied.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
