Budapest mayor questioned by police for organizing banned LGBTQ+ Pride event
BUDAPEST, Hungary — The liberal mayor of Hungary's capital was questioned by police Friday over accusations of helping organize an LGBTQ+ Pride event that the country's right-wing populist government had sought to ban.
The Pride march in Budapest on June 28 was the largest event of its kind in the country's history, according to organizers, despite Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's government earlier passing an anti-LGBTQ+ law that banned such events.
Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony arrived at Hungary's National Bureau of Investigation Friday morning where a crowd of around 200 of his supporters had gathered. Before entering the investigators' headquarters under police escort, he told supporters that freedom for Hungarian society was at stake.
'A month ago at Budapest Pride, very, very many of us told the whole world that neither freedom nor love can be banned in Budapest,' Karácsony said. 'And if it cannot be banned, then it cannot be punished.'
Orbán's ruling party in March passed the contentious anti-LGBTQ+ law, which banned Pride events and allowed authorities to use facial recognition tools to identify those attending the festivities.
Despite the threat of heavy fines, participants proceeded with June's Pride march in an open rebuke of Orbán's government. Organizers said that some 300,000 people participated.
The government's move to ban Pride was its latest action against LGBTQ+ people.
Orbán's party has passed other legislation — including a 2021 law barring all content depicting homosexuality to minors under 18 — that rights groups and European politicians have decried as repressive against sexual minorities and compared to similar restrictions in Russia.
Orbán and his party have insisted Pride, a celebration of LGBTQ+ visibility and struggle for equal rights, was a violation of children's rights to moral and spiritual development. A recent constitutional amendment declared these rights took precedence over other fundamental protections including the right to peacefully assemble.
While Hungarian authorities maintained that the Pride march had taken place illegally, they announced in July they would not press charges against attendees but said investigations were ongoing against the organizers.
One of the organizers, Budapest Pride President Viktória Radványi — who has not been summoned for police questioning — said at the gathering outside the investigators' headquarters Friday that Karácsony had demonstrated 'courage and very strong morals' for helping organize Pride.
Radványi said Karácsony had showed that 'being a mayor is not just about arranging public transportation and making sure that the lights turn on on the street at night. It also means that when your citizens' fundamental rights are attacked, you have to stand up and protect them.'
Karácsony on Friday emerged from the investigators' headquarters after having been inside for a little more than an hour. Speaking to reporters, he said he had been formally accused of organizing a prohibited event but that he had declined to respond to police questions.
Orbán's government, he said, had been weakened by its failed efforts to ban Pride.
'Until now, they've only been able to understand the language of force,' Karácsony said. 'This force is weakened now and no longer has any effect over people's thinking.'
Addressing the crowd, Karácsony said the 'fateful' national elections expected next spring would be a chance to 'take Hungary back onto the European path.'
'We want to live in a country where freedom is not for the holders of power to do what they want, but for all our compatriots,' he said.
He added that so many people had defied the government to participate in Pride 'because we know exactly that either we are all free together, or none of us are.'
Justin Spike, The Associated Press
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
Fierté Montreal deletes Gaza solidarity statement, reinvites Jewish organizations
Fierté Montreal backtracked on a decision to exclude groups it said was 'spreading hateful discourse' from this year's Pride Parade and deleted a statement in which it 'expresses solidarity with the Palestianian people' from its social media. Last week, Fierté said the organization's ombudsman received complaints, leading to a news release saying some groups would be excluded from festivities without specifying which. Gaa'va, a Jewish LGBTQ+ group, responded on social media, saying it was 'deeply shocked to learn that LGBTQ+ Jewish people and their allies would be excluded from the 2025 parade.' It has since been reinvited. The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), a Zionist lobby group advocating for the Canadian Jewish community, said it was told it could not participate in the parade. It has worked with Gaa'va for years. Quebec singer Safia Nolin pulled out of the Pride festival last week prior to Fierté's announcement, saying she would not perform after learning that Gaa'va, which she called a Zionist organization, would take part in the parade. CIJA denies claims it was spreading hateful discourse and called the decision to exclude some groups an 'egregious mistake.' On Tuesday, Fierté put out a release apologizing to Montreal's Jewish community and deleted its initial statement on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, calling for immediate and lasting peace and condemning the 'ongoing genocide' in Gaza. Bernard Truong, chairman of Fierté's board, resigned on Monday, citing personal reasons. 'Following complaints about statements deemed hateful, the organization announced last week its intention to deny participation in the Parade to certain organizations, some of which represent the Jewish community,' Fierté said in a news release. 'Although this was not Fierté Montréal's intention, the announcement was perceived by the Jewish community in Quebec (and especially by Jewish members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community) as a way to exclude them from its events. This does not reflect the inclusive values that guide Fierté Montréal's actions,' it added. It said it reached out to organizations, including CIJA, 'to clarify the situation and to ensure a space that is inclusive and safe for everyone, especially for Jewish members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community who wish to take part in the Parade.' CIJA confirmed in a news release that it was reinvited to participate in the parade. 'In recent days, it has become clear that excluding groups representing the Jewish community would have sent the message that Jews, Jewish 2ELGBTQIA+ individuals, and allies of the community were not welcome in the rainbow of Montreal Pride. This would have been unacceptable,' it said. Pride week festivities began on Monday and last until the parade on Sunday.
CTV News
2 hours ago
- CTV News
Russia says it no longer will abide by its self-imposed moratorium on intermediate-range missiles
MOSCOW —Russia has declared that it no longer considers itself bound by a self-imposed moratorium on the deployment of nuclear-capable intermediate range missiles, a warning that potentially sets the stage for a new arms race as tensions between Moscow and Washington rise again over Ukraine. In a statement Monday, the Russian Foreign Ministry linked the decision to efforts by the U.S. and its allies to develop intermediate range weapons and preparations for their deployment in Europe and other parts of the world. It specifically cited U.S. plans to deploy Typhon and Dark Eagle missiles in Germany starting next year. The ministry noted that such actions by the U.S. and its allies create 'destabilizing missile potentials' near Russia, creating a 'direct threat to the security of our country' and carry 'significant harmful consequences for regional and global stability, including a dangerous escalation of tensions between nuclear powers.' It didn't say what specific moves the Kremlin might take, but President Vladimir Putin has previously announced that Moscow was planning to deploy its new Oreshnik missiles on the territory of its neighbor and ally Belarus later this year. Asked where and when Russia could potentially deploy intermediate-range weapons, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that it's not something to be announced in advance. 'Russia no longer has any limitations, Russia no longer considers itself to be constrained by anything,' Peskov told reporters. 'Therefore Russia believes it has the right to take respective steps if necessary.' 'Decisions on specific parameters of response measures will be made by the leadership of the Russian Federation based on an interdepartmental analysis of the scale of deployment of American and other Western land-based intermediate-range missiles, as well as the development of the overall situation in the area of international security and strategic stability,' the Foreign Ministry said. Russia's move follows Trump's nuclear messaging The Russian statement follows President Donald Trump's announcement Friday that he's ordering the repositioning of two U.S. nuclear submarines 'based on the highly provocative statements' of Dmitry Medvedev, who was president in 2008-12 to allow Putin, bound by term limits, to later return to the office. Trump's statement came as his deadline for the Kremlin to reach a peace deal in Ukraine approaches later this week. Trump said he was alarmed by Medvedev's attitude. Medvedev, who serves as deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council chaired by Putin, has apparently sought to curry favor with his mentor by making provocative statements and frequently lobbing nuclear threats. Last week. he responded to Trump's deadline for Russia to accept a peace deal in Ukraine or face sanctions by warning him against 'playing the ultimatum game with Russia' and declaring that 'each new ultimatum is a threat and a step toward war.' Medvedev also commented on the Foreign Ministry's statement, describing Moscow's withdrawal from the moratorium as 'the result of NATO countries' anti-Russian policy.' 'This is a new reality all our opponents will have to reckon with,' he wrote on X. 'Expect further steps.' INF treaty abandoned in 2019 Intermediate-range missiles can fly between 500 to 5,500 kilometres (310 to 3,400 miles). Such land-based weapons were banned under the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. Trump withdrew from the pact in his first term, citing Russian violations, which Moscow denied. It, in turn, alleged the U.S. had committed violations. The treaty was terminated in 2019, but the Kremlin declared its self-imposed moratorium on their deployment until the U.S. makes such a move. The collapse of the INF Treaty has stoked fears of a replay of a Cold War-era European missile crisis, when the U.S. and the Soviet Union both deployed intermediate-range missiles on the continent in the 1980s. Such weapons are seen as particularly destabilizing because they take less time to reach targets, compared with intercontinental ballistic missiles, leaving no time for decision-makers and raising the likelihood of a global nuclear conflict over a false launch warning. Russia's missile forces chief has declared that the new Oreshnik intermediate range missile, which Russia first used against Ukraine in November, has a range to reach all of Europe. Oreshnik can carry conventional or nuclear warheads. Putin has praised the Oreshnik's capabilities, saying its multiple warheads that plunge to a target at speeds up to Mach 10 are immune to being intercepted and are so powerful that the use of several of them in one conventional strike could be as devastating as a nuclear attack. Putin has warned the West that Moscow could use it against Ukraine's NATO allies who allowed Kyiv to use their longer-range missiles to strike inside Russia. ___ The Associated Press receives support for nuclear security coverage from the Carnegie Corporation of New York and Outrider Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Vancouver Sun
2 hours ago
- Vancouver Sun
Carney announces support measures for softwood lumber industry
KELOWNA — Prime Minister Mark Carney said Tuesday the federal government will grant a series of financial aid measures to Canada's forestry sector. The move comes as the U.S. ratchets up duties on Canadian softwood lumber as bilateral trade tensions rise. The U.S. Commerce Department recently announced it intends to hike anti-dumping duties on Canadian softwood to just over 20 per cent. That's a marked increase since the last time the U.S. reviewed the rate, which previously was just over 7 per cent. Stay on top of the latest real estate news and home design trends. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Westcoast Homes will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Carney also says the government will introduce a training program for workers which will include some $50 million for the forestry sector. On Monday, Carney toured the Canadian Forces Maritime Experimental and Test Ranges facility near Nanoose Bay outside Nanaimo with officials from the Canadian Navy. He toured the Royal Canadian Navy vessel Sikanni accompanied by Navy Commander Vice-Admiral Angus Topshee and Commanding Officer Craig Piccolo from the testing facility. Carney on Sunday met with B.C. Premier David Eby and officials from the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, but the meeting with the premier was closed to reporters. Carney also made a surprise appearance at the Pride parade in downtown Vancouver that day, where he was greeted with cheers from crowds that lined the parade route. The Prime Minister's visit to the province comes amid renewed tensions in the softwood lumber dispute with the U.S., which has placed anti-dumping duties on softwood lumber products that the B.C. Council of Forest Industries has condemned as 'unjustified and punitive trade actions.' More to come
