The Budapest V and XIII District Prosecutor’s Office has filed charges against Budapest Mayor Karácsony Gergely and is seeking the imposition of a fine after he organized and led the Budapest Pride march last summer despite a police ban, the Budapest Chief Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement on Wednesday.
According to the indictment, the mayor announced in a video message on a major social media platform on 16 June 2025 that the Budapest municipality would organize an event called the Budapest Pride march in the capital on 28 June. He also invited his followers to attend the event.
Under Hungary’s law on the right of assembly, the event qualified as a public assembly as it aimed to express an opinion on a public issue and was open to anyone. The Budapest Police Headquarters banned the assembly in a decision dated 19 June 2025, citing the amended child protection law and the fact that another event had already been registered for the same time and location.
Prosecutors said Karácsony became aware of the ban on the day it was issued. He did not seek legal remedy or exhaust judicial review but went ahead with organizing the assembly despite the prohibition. He also published further public calls encouraging participation and led the march on 28 June, which started from Városháza Park in the 5th District and ended at the Műegyetem embankment in the 11th District.
Based on these facts, prosecutors charged the mayor with the misdemeanour of violating the freedom of association and assembly. In the indictment submitted to the Pest Central District Court, they requested that the court impose a fine without holding a trial, the statement said.
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