Budapest mayor interrogated over LGBTQI+ Pride

Hungarian police have interrogated the Mayor of Budapest as a suspect in connection with the Pride event.

Gergely Karácsony, the Mayor of Budapest, was summoned for questioning at the National Bureau of Investigation. The reason: Budapest Pride, which took place in the Hungarian capital on 28 June. According to organisers, more than 200,000 people took part.

This year, the ruling coalition amended both the law and the Constitution to formally ban Pride events, citing the need to “protect children”. Despite this, Mayor Karácsony announced that the Pride parade would go ahead in the city, defying Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s ban.

The event was reclassified as a municipal celebration — a format that, under current legislation, does not require a special permit and cannot be prohibited.

“There are no first- or second-class citizens in this city. We know that freedom is only possible together. That’s why, in this city, neither freedom nor love can be banned — and Budapest Pride cannot be banned either,” the mayor declared at the time.

While police initially opposed the march, they did not intervene on the day of the event and ensured participants' safety. However, authorities later opened an investigation targeting both the organisers and municipal officials — with the mayor himself becoming the main focus.

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