Hungarian prosecutors announced on June 4 that they had\u00a0dropped charges against a mayor and a civic activist for their roles in organizing\u00a02025 Pride events in Budapest and P\u00e9cs. The charges, which were brought under Fidesz-era\u00a0anti-LGBT legislation, were part of the former government\u2019s crackdown on civic space and LGBT rights.
Prosecutors had filed criminal charges this January against\u00a0Budapest mayor Gergely Kar\u00e1csony, seeking to fine him for his role in organizing the Pride march in his city in June 2025. Citing Fidesz-era constitutional amendments that targeted Pride events, they used the spurious pretext of \u201cchild protection\u201d to restrict the rights of LGBT people.
In the city of P\u00e9cs, prosecutors charged\u00a0G\u00e9za Buz\u00e1s-H\u00e1bel, a teacher and human rights activist, in February with offenses\u2014punishable by up to a year in prison\u2014related to the local Pride march in October 2025. Buz\u00e1s-H\u00e1bel, who is gay and Roma, is a longstanding organizer of Hungary\u2019s only rural Pride march.
The announcements by prosecutors in\u00a0Budapest and\u00a0P\u00e9cs that all charges against Kar\u00e1csony and Buz\u00e1s-H\u00e1bel had been dropped both referred to a recent European Court of Justice\u00a0judgment which found Hungary\u2019s 2021 Fidesz-era\u00a0anti-LGBT law on \u201cchild protection\u201d\u00a0incompatible with EU law and therefore unlawful. This is an important signal that Hungarian authorities are committed to restoring the rule of law in the country.
The European Court\u2019s\u00a0ruling, following a challenge brought by the European Commission as part of a broader effort to tackle the former Hungarian government\u2019s systematic attack on the rule of law, now requires Hungary\u2019s newly-elected parliament to ensure its domestic law complies with EU law. The Hungarian government should repeal the 2021 law, and other discriminatory legislation and constitutional amendments negatively impacting the rights of LGBT people.
Coming during Pride month, prosecutors dropping these charges sends a clear signal to the many thousands of LGBT people and their allies that they can attend Hungary\u2019s upcoming Pride events with joy, and without fear of arrest, fines, or imprisonment on spurious grounds.
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