Key facts
- Hungarian prosecutors dropped charges against Budapest Mayor Gergely Karacsony.
- The charges were related to his role in organizing a 2025 LGBTQ+ rights rally.
- The decision followed a European Court of Justice ruling.
- The ruling stated Hungary's "child protection" law violated EU law.
- The Pride march proceeded despite a police ban and became an anti-government demonstration.
Hungarian prosecutors have dropped charges against Budapest Mayor Gergely Karacsony concerning his role in organizing a 2025 LGBTQ+ rights rally. The charges, filed in January, alleged Karacsony violated the law on freedom of assembly by organizing and leading a banned event. Karacsony had attempted to circumvent the police ban by registering the Pride march as a municipal event. The decision to drop the charges came after a late April ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). The CJEU found that Hungary's 2021 "child protection" law, which served as the basis for banning the Pride event, unlawfully restricted access to content portraying homosexuality and gender variance and breached fundamental rights and EU values. The Pride march in June 2025 saw tens of thousands of protesters proceed despite a police ban, evolving into a mass anti-government demonstration and one of the largest displays of opposition to former Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who was ousted on April 12 after 16 years in power.