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Budapest mayor questioned by police for defying government to hold Pride parade

THE MAYOR OF Budapest has been questioned as a suspect by the city's police for having organised the city's Pride parade in June, which authorities tried to ban as part of a series of regressive policies targeting LGBTQ+ rights. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his far-right government have enacted legislation restricting freedom of assembly and penalising visibility of LGBTQ+ related content, which it used this summer to ban the 30th annual Pride parade in Budapest and threaten attendees with fines or imprisonment. Despite the threats hanging over Budapest's LGBTQ+ community, the parade went ahead and was the largest the city has ever seen as more than 200,000 participants turned out to demand equality under the law. Budapest's left-wing mayor Gergely Karácsony took over the running of the parade in the weeks leading up to it, arguing that a municipal event would fall outside the scope of the government's ban – though police, following the government's orders, threatened him with imprisonment . Karácsony wore a T-shirt featuring Budapest's coat of arms with rainbow colours as he arrived for questioning this morning, where he was held for over an hour. Speaking after he was released, Karácsony said that police 'described the accusation' and that he told them he 'considered this to be unfounded and that [he] will lodge a complaint against it'. Advertisement An estimated 200,000 people attended the Budapest Pride parade at the end of June despite the Hungarian government's attempts to ban it. Martin Fejer / Alamy Martin Fejer / Alamy / Alamy Supporters gathered outside the building to show their support for Karácsony and LGBTQ+ rights. Addressing the crowd, Karácsony said that Budapest Pride showed that 'neither freedom nor love can be banned in Budapest'. If Karácsony is charged and convicted, he could spend up to a year in prison as an organiser of the protest. Ahead of the parade, authorities said that attendees identified as taking part could be fined up to €500 and organisers could face imprisonment of up to a year. Police later said that they will not take action against participants but that they had launched an investigation against an 'unknown perpetrator' for organising the event. 'Deviating from democracy' The efforts by Hungary's government to chip away at human rights have raised significant concerns about the state of liberal democracy in the country. Some observers have also said the targeting of the LGBTQ+ community appears to be a tactic by Orbán to curry favour among his hardline supporters ahead of an expected election next year. A formal legal opinion from an EU Court of Justice Advocate General in June outlined that Hungary's anti-LGBTQ+ legislation is infringing on the treaty that sets out the EU's fundamental principles of human dignity and equality . Hungary has 'significantly deviated from the model of a constitutional democracy', the legal opinion stated. Related Reads With fear and courage, Hungarians are refusing to let their government beat them down Budapest mayor threatened with imprisonment as he defies police to host Pride parade The last few years have been a distressing time to be LGBTQ+ in Hungary – though in the face of the government's repressive policies, the sense of community has in many ways been strengthened, not weakened, as people come together to stand up for their rights . The issue has also received international attention, with many politicians from abroad travelling to Budapest last month to attend the Pride parade. Among them were Irish MEPs Maria Walsh and Cynthia Ní Mhurchú and TD Roderic O'Gorman , while former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar was in the city earlier that week for a conference on protecting LGBTQ+ rights. Additional reporting by AFP Have you been wondering why debates on transgender issues are so prevalent at the moment? Check out our FactCheck Knowledge Bank for background and essential reads about changes in society. Visit Knowledge Bank Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal