Charges dropped against Budapest mayor over 2025 Pride march
BBC • • world
Key Points:
- Hungarian prosecutors have dropped charges against Budapest Mayor Gergely Karacsony related to his role in organising the June 2025 Pride march.
- The march took place despite a Hungarian law banning public LGBTQ events, passed under then-Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's government.
- The decision to drop charges follows a landmark ruling by the European Court of Justice in April, which found Hungary's anti-LGBTQ laws violate EU rules on equality and minority rights.
- Organisers reported a record turnout of 200,000 people at the Pride march, with Karacsony emphasizing that "neither freedom nor love can be banned in Budapest."
- Prosecutors cited the EU court ruling as the basis for dropping the charges, affirming the legal protection of freedom of assembly.