European mayors and politicians have rallied behind the Budapest Mayor Gergely Karacsony for his role in organising the banned Pride parade last year in the Hungarian capital.
Despite the government ban, Budapest Pride took place on 28 June, attracting around 200,000 participants. Many Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) also participated in defiance of the ban.
A few months before, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's government had succeeded in amending the country's freedom of assembly law to ban events that violate the country's Child Protection Act.
This act has been used to strip back LGBTQ+ rights in the country, including organising Pride, provoking widespread criticism from domestic and international rights groups.
On Wednesday, Hungarian prosecutors announced their intention to prosecute Karacsony for violating the law on freedom of assembly. He is accused of organising and leading a public demonstration that had been formally banned by the police.
Rally for mayor
With the Hungarian government having de-facto banned Pride, a celebration and protest for the rights of LGBTQ+ communities, Europeans have rallied behind the mayor.
The Mayor of Ghent and President of Eurocities, Mathias de Clercq, condemned the charges against his Budapest colleague.
"The fact that a political disagreement about something as fundamental as the freedom to be who you want to be leads to prosecution should, once again, raise serious concerns about the state of democracy in Hungary," he said in reaction to Karacsony’s charges.
The Flemish liberal mayor accused Hungary of further sliding toward an autocratic system, far removed from the rule of law.
"At a time when liberal democracy is under pressure everywhere, democrats must unite and stand up for our freedoms. Europe’s cities and mayors stand firmly in solidarity with our colleague, the Mayor of Budapest," de Clercq added.
These thoughts were echoed by the Mayor of Barcelona Jaume Collboni, who is also the Vice-President of Brussels-based Eurocities, says: "Defending the Mayor of Budapest is defending all of us who stand for a diverse, proud, and democratic Europe."
Belgian MEP from Les Engagés, Yvan Vergoustraete, who was part of the MEP delegation which attended the event in Budapest, also took to social media to condemn the decision.
"We were at the Budapest Pride, banned by Orbán, to defend freedom of expression and respect for fundamental rights," Vergoustraete said. "If we have to go back to protest in the streets of Budapest and denounce the abuses of power by the Hungarian authorities, we will go back!"
Photo shared by Belgian MEP Yvan Vergoustraete from the banned Budapest Pride
In a tactical manoeuvre to circumvent the ban, Karacsony declared Pride an official municipal event of the city of Budapest, arguing that it would then no longer fall under the standard provisions of the law on freedom of assembly.
Nevertheless, criminal proceedings are now underway. The authorities have indicated that they want to avoid a public trial.
The public prosecutors have requested the court to impose a fine via a criminal order without oral proceedings.
Belga contributed to this report.
