Hungarian prosecutors announce they are dropping charges against Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony related to his role in organising a Pride march in 2025. The BBC and Cyprus Mail report that prosecutors said the case is closed after legal developments, with BBC stating Karácsony had been charged over helping organise a march that had been banned by police. Human Rights Watch adds that the charges were brought earlier under anti-LGBT provisions associated with the former Fidesz-era legal framework, which prosecutors linked to restrictions framed as “child protection.”
The reports note that the 2025 Pride events proceeded in Budapest despite police limits, and that the marches drew large crowds, with the Pride demonstration also described as taking on an anti-government character. In addition to the Budapest case, Human Rights Watch says prosecutors also dropped Pride-related charges against civic activist and teacher Géza Buzás-Hábel in Pécs, tied to another scheduled local Pride event.
All sources attribute the decision to an earlier European Court of Justice judgment finding Hungary’s 2021 “child protection” approach—used to restrict Pride—unlawful under EU law, requiring Hungary to align domestic rules with EU standards.
