According to the indictment, Karacsony had encouraged his followers on social media to attend the Pride march organised by the municipality on June 28. The metropolitan police had issued a ban for the event on June 19 citing stipulations of the child protection law, and because "another person reserved the location for an event of a different kind" on the given day.

The indictment also said that the mayor did not appeal the police ban and "went on organising the event despite the police ban". 

"He published further invitations to participate in the event, and led the march" from in front of the City Hall to the Technical University on the Buda side.

The prosecutors have proposed imposing a fine on the mayor without trial for violating the freedoms of association and assembly, the statement said.

Karacsony said in response on Facebook: "I shall never accept … that my homeland should criminalise standing up to freedom, the expression of opinion, that it should ban the freedom of love, or that anyone should be punishable for believing, thinking or loving differently from the majority."

He said that the procedure "seems to be the price for standing up for our and others' freedom, but anyone who thinks they can ban me or my city from doing that … is very, very wrong."

Karacsony also said that the Prosecutor's Office wanted to impose a fine on him without a trial "for organising the biggest freedom march of the past decades."

The main point of the indictment, that he organised the march, was true, he said: "this was what happened … and the fact that hundreds of thousands came … turned that day an unforgettable miracle, a reference point."

Karacsony posted the following on X:

"I was a suspect, now I'm being accused because I stood up for freedom - my own and of others."

"Prosecutors are seeking to fine me without a trial for announcing and organizing Budapest Büszkeség, Budapest Pride in its international name, the largest freedom march in decades here in Budapest."

"I refuse to be intimidated or silenced. I will never accept that standing up for freedom, free speech, or love can be treated as a crime. Despite threats or punishment, I will continue to fight. Freedom and love cannot be banned."

Karácsony: 'I insist on a court proceeding!'

Gergely Karacsony, the mayor of Budapest, said on Thursday that he insisted on a court proceeding, following the submission of an indictment by the prosecutor's offices of Budapest's 5th and 13th districts to the Pest Central District Court, charging him with violating the freedom of assembly. The prosecutor’s office proposed that the court impose a fine without a trial.

In a video posted on his YouTube channel, Karacsony said the case was not about whether he should go to prison or pay a fine "just because the prosecutor's office has decided so".

"This is about whether Hungary and Budapest are a free country and a free city -- and in my view, they are," he declared.

The mayor said he was going to court to stand up for his own rights and the rights of his city. "I refuse to accept that our most fundamental right -- to love each other as we choose and to take to the streets together whenever we wish -- can be taken away."
 

Karacsony thanked the prosecutor's office "for the publicity", noting that it had once again highlighted how wonderful it is to hold a Pride march in Budapest. "They're reminding us again of that beautiful June day when hundreds of thousands told the system that we will live freely," he said. "We will meet in court and stand up for a free Budapest and a free Hungary."
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CoE calls for dropping charges against Budapest mayor

The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe has condemned the recent charges brought against Budapest Mayor Gergely Karacsony, and called on Hungarian authorities to drop them, the CoE said in a statement on Thursday.

The chief prosecutor's offices of two Budapest districts raised charges against Karacsony for organising last year's Budapest Pride march despite a prior police ban.

Marc Cools, the president of the CoE body, said in a statement: "I urge the Hungarian authorities to drop these charges... National constitutions and legislation cannot be used to force local authorities to violate human rights of citizens."

Cools quoted Karacsony as calling the Pride event "an act of civic resistance showing that local authorities, allied with civil society, can protect the small circles of freedom."

"The Congress continues to closely follow the situation of human rights of LGBTIQ+ persons at local level in Europe," he said.

Source: MTI – Hungary’s national news agency since 1881. While MTI articles are usually factual, some may contain political bias, and readers should be aware that such content does not reflect the position of XpatLoop, which is neutral and independent.

Since the goal of XpatLoop is to keep readers well briefed, right across the spectrum of opinions, MTI items are shared to ensure readers are aware of all narratives within the local media.

XpatLoop believes in empowering readers to form their own views through complete and comprehensive coverage. To facilitate this XpatLoop has a balanced range of news partners, as you can see when you surf around XpatLoop.com

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