Gergely Karacsony, the mayor of Budapest, has been charged for his role in organising the city’s Pride parade last June, breaching the Hungarian government’s ban on LGBTQ+ events.

Budapest City Hall helped co-organise a number of Pride events, which saw a record-breaking 200,000 people take part in defiance of Hungary’s clampdown on LGBTQ+ rights.

As RTÉ reports, district prosecutors have filed charges against Karacsony, who is a member of Hungary’s opposition party. Prosecutors have also announced their intention to impose fines on Karacsony in a summary judgment without a trial. Before being charged, the Budapest mayor was subject to police questioning in August.

Responding to the charge, Karscony said he is a “proud defendant”, after being a “proud suspect”.

On Facebook, he wrote: “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.”

The Hungarian government, led by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, introduced amendments to the Assembly Act in April 2025, which invoked new rules to block LGBTQ+ related gatherings. The amendments allow public events to be banned if they “depict or promote homosexuality or gender diversity,” and the provisions have been used to prevent protests on legal gender recognition, as well as Pride events.

Attendees of the banned Pride events in Hungary could have faced fines of up to €500, however police announced in June that they would not be pursuing those who attended.

Elsewhere, Géza Buzás-Hábel, the organiser of Pécs Pride in southwestern Hungary, has been investigated by authorities and indicted for coordinating the LGBTQ+ event in October. Buzás-Hábel lost his job as a teacher as a result of the investigation, and as TVP World reports, he could face a suspended prison sentence of up to three years.