What's happened
Budapest's mayor, Gergely Karácsony, is charged with organizing a banned Pride march, defying police orders amid Hungary's tightening restrictions on LGBTQ+ events. He vows to continue fighting for freedom despite potential fines and legal action, highlighting ongoing tensions over civil liberties in Hungary.
What's behind the headline?
The charges against Gergely Karácsony exemplify Hungary's escalating repression of LGBTQ+ rights and civil liberties. The government’s legislation, including the 2025 ban on Pride marches and restrictions on LGBTQ+ content, aims to suppress visibility and activism. The prosecution’s move to fine the mayor without a trial underscores the authoritarian shift, where legal processes are bypassed to silence dissent. This crackdown is part of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s broader strategy to consolidate power by marginalizing minority groups and controlling public discourse. The international response, including criticism from the European Greens, highlights the tension between Hungary’s domestic policies and European values of human rights and freedom. The outcome of this case will likely set a precedent for how Hungary enforces its restrictive laws and suppresses civil activism, with potential ripple effects across the region.
What the papers say
Politico reports that the Budapest mayor, Gergely Karácsony, faces charges for organizing a Pride march despite a police ban, with the prosecutor proposing a fine without trial. The article emphasizes the political context, noting Orbán’s government has passed laws banning Pride events and restricting LGBTQ+ rights, framing the march as a challenge to these laws. Al Jazeera highlights the legal process and the government’s broader crackdown on human rights, including legislation that criminalizes Pride events and LGBTQ+ content. The Independent and AP News detail the scale of the 2025 Pride march, the legal charges against Karácsony, and his defiant stance, quoting him as a 'proud defendant' standing up for freedom. Both sources underscore the political repression and the symbolic importance of the march as a protest against Hungary’s restrictive laws. The contrasting tone between the sources reflects the tension between the government’s legal actions and the international community’s criticism of Hungary’s human rights record.
How we got here
Since returning to power in 2010, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's government has implemented laws restricting LGBTQ+ rights, including banning Pride marches and content depicting homosexuality to minors. The 2025 legislation also criminalizes organizing or attending banned LGBTQ+ events, reflecting a broader crackdown on civil liberties and human rights in Hungary. The Pride march in June 2025, which drew hundreds of thousands, was held despite a police ban, leading to legal charges against the city’s mayor, Gergely Karácsony, who openly defied the order.
Go deeper
Common question
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Why is Budapest’s mayor facing a fine over Pride?
Budapest’s mayor, Gergely Karácsony, is facing legal action and a potential fine after organizing a Pride march that was officially banned by the Hungarian government. Despite the restrictions, hundreds of thousands of people participated, highlighting ongoing tensions over LGBTQ rights and civil liberties in Hungary. This situation raises important questions about government restrictions, civil resistance, and the state of LGBTQ rights across Europe. Below, we explore the key issues surrounding this controversy and what it means for civil liberties today.
More on these topics
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Viktor Mihály Orbán is a Hungarian politician who has been Prime Minister of Hungary since 2010; he was also Prime Minister from 1998 to 2002.
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Gergely Szilveszter Karácsony ([ˈkɒraːt͡ʃoɲ ˌɡɛrɡɛj ˌsilvɛstɛr]; born 11 June 1975) is a Hungarian politician, sociologist, political scientist, activist and current Mayor of Budapest. He previously served as member of the National Assembly
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Budapest is the capital and the most populous city of Hungary, and the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits. The city has an estimated population of 1,752,286 over a land area of about 525 square kilometres.
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Hungary is a country in Central Europe. Spanning 93,030 square kilometres in the Carpathian Basin, it borders Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and Slovenia to the southwest, a