Budapest Mayor Cleared of Charges Related to 2025 Pride Parade

Hungarian authorities have dismissed criminal charges against Budapest Mayor Gergely Karacsony concerning his involvement in organizing last year’s Pride march. The decision was announced in a statement on Thursday, with prosecutors pointing to a pivotal ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) as the basis for the dismissal.

The parade, held in June 2025, proceeded despite a legislative ban on public gatherings involving the LGBTQ community enacted by the previous government. At the time, then-Prime Minister Viktor Orbán had issued stern warnings regarding the legal consequences of defying the new regulations. Nevertheless, event organizers reported a record turnout of 200,000 attendees. During the event, Mayor Karacsony declared, "Neither freedom nor love can be banned in Budapest."

Karacsony was initially charged in January with organizing the unauthorized assembly. However, the legal landscape shifted significantly in April when the ECJ declared Hungary’s anti-LGBTQ legislation incompatible with EU standards. The court determined that the laws, which prohibited the "promotion" of homosexuality or gender reassignment to minors under the guise of child protection, violated EU principles of equality and minority rights.

Referencing this landmark judgment, prosecutors confirmed that the charges against the mayor for breaching the freedom of assembly law were withdrawn. No immediate comment was provided by Karacsony following the announcement.

This legal development occurred just nine days after Hungarian citizens voted to conclude Prime Minister Orbán’s sixteen-year uninterrupted tenure. Following the election, Péter Magyar was sworn in as the country’s new prime minister.

Source: BBC News Generated at: 2026-06-04 14:10:31 UTC