Orbán warns of 'legal consequences' over banned Budapest Pride march
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has warned on Friday that anyone involved in this weekend's banned Pride of Budapest march will face "legal consequences".
Claiming the move was needed to protect children, Orbán's conservative government passed legislation earlier this year that allows police to prohibit public LGBTQ+ events.
Despite the ban, Budapest's liberal Mayor Gergely Karácsony has vowed to go ahead with the Pride march in the Hungarian capital on Saturday.
Speaking to Euronews, Karácsony claimed the event was "perfectly legal".
"The Hungarian Parliament has passed an amendment to the Assembly Act, which means that Pride, which is covered by the Assembly Act, was not authorised by the police," Karácsony explained.
"However, we're instead organising a municipal event, which is not covered by this law. The municipality is inviting the people of Budapest to another event in its own public spaces, organised by itself, so it is perfectly legal."
Minister of Justice Bence Tuzson quickly claimed that the march does fall under the Assembly Act and is therefore prohibited.
Tuzson said that Karácsony could face one year in prison and a fine for organising the event.
Hard-to-dodge fines
Those involved in Saturday's march could also be forced to pay fines.
As well as approving the use of AI-powered facial recognition to identify people at banned events, Orbán's party, Fidesz, has streamlined the process of issuing them with financial penalties.
Kristóf András Kádár, the co-president of the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, a human rights organisation, told Euronews that the Budapest mayor has a strong legal case, but that participants may still be fined.
"I think that ultimately the reduction or cancellation of the fine can be achieved through different legal procedures," Kádár said, "But at least temporarily they need to be paid."
Fines are not the only concern. There is also a growing fear that violence from other groups could pose a serious threat to Pride participants.
Hungarian police have authorised the counter-demonstration of the far-right Our Homeland (Mi Hazánk), which is set to partially overlap with the planned route of Budapest Pride.
Orbán has urged people this week not to take part in the Budapest Pride march.
"If someone does something like this, then there is a clear legal procedure, which must be followed", Orbán said.
"But we are a civilised country, we don't hurt each other, we've never had a civil war here, maybe a little bit in '56, but we don't hurt each other even if we don't agree. It's not part of Hungarian political culture," he added.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
France 24
4 hours ago
- France 24
Orban says police will not disperse Budapest Pride march
Orban's ruling coalition amended laws and the constitution earlier this year to prohibit the annual celebration, advancing his widely condemned, years-long clampdown on LGBTQ rights in the name of "child protection". Last week, police banned the Pride march from taking place in Budapest, citing recent legal changes forbidding the promotion or display of homosexuality to under-18s. But organisers, including the Budapest city hall, disputed the legality of the decision and pledged the parade would go ahead. The ban has drawn international condemnation. "Of course, the police could break up such events, because they have the authority to do so, but Hungary is a civilised country, a civic society. We don't hurt each other," Orban told state radio during his weekly interview on Friday. "There will be legal consequences, but it cannot reach the level of physical abuse." Attendees risk a fine of up to 500 euros ($580) with police empowered to use facial recognition technology to identify them. Organisers could face a one-year prison sentence. 'Wider push' However, opposition Budapest mayor Gergely Karacsony insisted during a briefing with visiting EU equalities commissioner Hadja Lahbib that no attendee can face any reprisals as the march is a municipal event and does not require police approval. "The police have only one task tomorrow, and it is a serious one: to ensure the safety of Hungarian and European citizens attending the event," Karacsony told journalists, warning that far-right actors could be emboldened by the government to disrupt the Pride march. Far-right groups have announced multiple counterprotests along the planned route of the procession. Dozens of EU lawmakers are expected to attend the Pride parade, as well as ministers and mayors from multiple European Union countries, according to the organisers. Lahbib said she is still assessing whether to participate given her role as commissioner, but assured the Hungarian LGBTQ community of the EU's support. "These attacks are part of a wider push to roll back progress and undo the rights that generations before us fought for," the Belgian commissioner told journalists. "The right to gather peacefully is one of those rights. It must be protected and upheld across the European Union," she added. Organisers hope Saturday's Pride march will see a record turnout of more than 35,000 to signal a strong rebuke of Orban's anti-LGBTQ policies. Hungary's nationalist premier on Friday rejected calls from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to reverse the ban, comparing her to late Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev. "She considers Hungary a subordinate country and she thinks she can dictate to Hungarians from Brussels how they should live, what they should like, what they should dislike, what their legal system should be like, what should be banned and what should not be. Exactly like Brezhnev," Orban said.
Euronews
4 hours ago
- Euronews
Experts will assess damage to Iran's nuclear sites, says diplomat
A ceasefire between Iran and Israel brokered by the US continues to hold, but many questions remain about what is left of Tehran's nuclear programme amid controversy on the impact of US strikes on the facilities. Speaking to Euronews, Iran's ambassador to Greece, Malek Hossein Gevzad, said the crisis had rallied the Iranian people and that the damage to nuclear sites from US strikes would be assessed by experts. Gevzad said Iran believes in diplomacy, but stressed that circumstances have changed and decisions are now taken with the protection of national interests in mind. Diplomacy and self-protection: finding a difficult balance "The basic principle of Iran's foreign policy is and remains diplomacy and negotiations," he said. However, he noted that following the aggression that, according to the Iranian side, Israel and the US have shown, Iran has been forced to adjust its stance. US pilots dropped some 30,000-pound bombs early Sunday on two key underground uranium enrichment plants in Iran, delivering what American military leaders believe is a knockout blow to a nuclear programme that Israel views as an existential threat. Before the US involvement, Israel had been pummeling Iran for more than a week and had requested US intervention to complete the job. American sailors bolstered the surprise mission by firing dozens of cruise missiles from a submarine toward at least one other site. According to the Iranian diplomat to Greece, these actions were a violation of Iran's territorial sovereignty, which gives the Islamic Republic the right to respond. Damage to nuclear facilities - Estimates expected Gevzad argued that Iran's nuclear programme was used exclusively for peaceful purposes and was severely damaged. The extent of the damage is being assessed by Iranian experts once the safety of the infrastructure has been ensured, he said. The reaction of Iranians and the attitude of the West Despite the tension between Iran and the West, the ambassador stressed the unity of the Iranian people: "The aggression caused national unity and strengthened the rallying of the people around the government and the armed forces." In the same context, he strongly criticised Europe, which he accused of not only failing to condemn the attacks, but in some cases supporting the aggressor side. The Iranian ambassador praised Russia and China for their condemnation of the Israeli-US strikes on Tehran's nuclear sites. Gedanz said this shows a clear stance in favour of Iran, condemning hostile actions against it. Their support, he said, "is an important factor in maintaining international stability and peace" The Iranian diaspora in Greece The ambassador concluded by thanking the Iranian community residing in Greece, which he described as "united and committed to defending the homeland". He said Iranians in the diaspora stood in solidarity with the people, government and armed forces of Iran. A relatively small Iranian diaspora resides in Greece, with most arriving after the 1979 Iranian Revolution or the Iran-Iraq War. In 2021, approximately 2,500 Iranians were living in Greece.
LeMonde
5 hours ago
- LeMonde
Social democracy: PM Bayrou's proclamations are not enough
Three days after the breakdown of talks on the future of the pensions system, French Prime Minister François Bayrou tried to revive the process during an unusual press conference on Thursday, June 26, during which he did not hesitate to rewrite history in his own way. According to him, the four-month negotiations between labor unions and employers' organizations, an effort to overcome the democratic trauma caused by the raising of the retirement age without a vote in Parliament, were "remarkably useful." Thanks to the goodwill of employers' organizations and the three unions that agreed to sit through the talks, improvements are on the horizon for mothers' pensions, as well as for retirees who have not contributed long enough to receive a full pension. The prime minister downplayed the significance of the deadlocks that emerged over arduous working conditions and how to fund all proposed adjustments. He said he was ready to grant an additional two weeks of discussions to the labor unions and employers' organizations. But he did not rule out the possibility of putting forward "compromise solutions" himself that could be translated into legislation as part of the social security budget to be debated this fall. If the goal of this initiative was to reshuffle the deck, its failure is clear. The Socialists, which the centrist Bayrou has been trying to win over since his appointment, submitted a motion of no confidence on Tuesday, on the grounds that the initial promise to review the issue of the retirement age of 64 had been broken. With just two weeks to go before the announcement of tough budgetary choices, this attempt at outreach to the left ended in failure. As for the participants in what Bayrou called a "conclave," they remain highly circumspect: While not shutting the door on further talks, all are holding back on responding. Bayrou has always championed social democracy. It is his only card in this matter. Everythign else is playing against him: his record unpopularity, fueled by a tendency to procrastinate rather than decide; his inability to assert any real authority over the centrist bloc, which shares no common vision regarding the future of the 2023 pension reform; and his complex relationship with the president, who supports him but is also frustrated by the risk of an impasse. The combination of these weaknesses means that, instead of generating momentum around what he believes in – shared responsibility and easing labor tensions – the prime minister appears increasingly desperate, resorting to cunning manneuvers in order to survive politically. The return of the labor unions and employers' organizations to the negotiating table is all the more necessary as the loss of a majority in the Assemblée Nationale led to deadlock and a simmering crisis. Bayrou said he was willing to entrust the governance of the public pension fund to the employer representatives and the unions. This would be an effective way to defuse and depoliticize the management of a hot-button issue that, given demographic trends, is far from settled. But trust cannot be mandated. Having been sidelined for eight years, the unions have every reason to be wary. Protected by pro-business policies, the employers' representatives struggle to understand that they, too, need to do their part. They reject any increase in contributions but are in no hurry to facilitate employment for older workers. The obstacles are not solely political in nature.
