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Hungarian prosecutors have dropped charges against Budapest Mayor Gergely Karacsony over his role in organising a Pride march last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The event took place in June 2025, despite warnings of potential legal repercussions by Hungary’s then-Prime Minister Viktor Orb\u00e1n, whose government had passed a law banning public events involving the LGBTQ community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a statement issued on Thursday, Hungarian prosecutors cited a landmark ruling from the EU’s top court as its reason for dropping the charges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There was no immediate response from Karacsony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Budapest’s annual pride march went ahead last year in spite of the ban, with organisers of the march saying at the time that a record 200,000 people took part.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speaking at the march, Karacsony said: “Neither freedom nor love can be banned in Budapest.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Authorities charged him with organising the event in January.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But in April, the European Court of Justice ruled that Hungary’s anti-LGBTQ laws violate EU rules and infringe its values of equality and minority rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The laws banned so-called promotion of homosexuality or gender change to under-18s, arguing it violated child protection laws.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Citing that ruling on Thursday, Hungarian prosecutors announced that the charges had been dropped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Considering the ruling by the European Court… the prosecutors dropped charges against the Budapest mayor for violating the law on freedom of assembly,” they said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n