Budapest mayor defies police ban on Pride march
Hungarian police banned the Pride march citing anti-LGBTQ laws, but Budapest's mayor vowed the event will proceed as a city-organised protest.
(FILES) People take part in the LGBTIQA+ Pride Parade in Budapest on July 23, 2022, in memory of the Stonewall Riots, the first big uprising of homosexuals against police assaults in New York City on June 27, 1969. Hungary police said on June 19, 2025 that they have banned the country's main Pride march from taking place in Budapest on June 28, 2025. (Photo by Ferenc ISZA / AFP)
Hungarian police on Thursday banned the country's main Pride march from taking place in Budapest on June 28 but the capital's mayor defied them, vowing it would still go ahead.
Since Prime Minister Viktor Orban returned to power in 2010, Hungary has passed a series of laws which have been criticised at home and across the European Union for curtailing the rights of the country's sexual and gender minorities in the name of 'child protection'.
'The police, acting within their authority over public assemblies, prohibit the holding of the assembly at the aforementioned location and time,' the police said on their website.
Police said the ban was necessary under recent legislation that bans the promotion of same-sex relationships to under-18s.
They said any appeal against the decision must be lodged with the central European country's supreme court within three days.
Budapest's liberal Mayor Gergely Karacsony vowed to hold the gathering despite the ban.
He said the police decision had 'no value' because the march did not require official authorisation anyway, as it was an event organised by the city council.
ALSO READ: Centre for Contemporary Islam calls out Muslims for hate speech over gay imam Hendricks
'Budapest city hall will organise the Budapest Pride march on June 28 as a city event. Period,' he wrote on Facebook.
On Monday he had announced that Budapest city hall would organise the march in an attempt to sidestep the recently adopted law.
In mid-March, the Hungarian parliament passed a bill aimed at banning any gathering that violates an anti-LGBTQ law adopted in 2021.
The 2021 law prohibits the 'display or promotion of homosexuality' to under-18s.
Pro-LGBTQ protests
In its decision published on Thursday, police said that the march 'by its very nature cannot be held without the representation' of people belonging to the LGBTQ community and that under-18s could be present along the route.
'If it cannot be stated with absolute certainty that the display is not taking place in the presence of persons under 18 years of age, the assembly would be in breach of the ban,' the police said.
Hungarian lawmakers in April overwhelmingly backed constitutional changes that strengthened the legal foundations for banning the Pride march.
ALSO READ: Free State man sentenced to 15 years for raping lesbian neighbour
The government said the annual event could be held at an enclosed location like a stadium, out of sight of children.
The conflict over the Pride march has already sparked protests in Hungary.
Thousands of people blocked bridges in the capital, demanding the ban be repealed.
Several members of the European Parliament have said they will attend the parade.
European equalities commissioner Hadja Lahbib is also due to attend the march, as are ministers from several European Union countries, the organisers said.
Attendees risk a fine of up to 500 euros ($570), which the Hungarian authorities say will be channelled into 'child protection' projects.
Police may use facial recognition technology to identify them.
NOW READ: Nearly 2 000 LGBTQ couples wed as Thai same-sex marriage law comes into force
– By: © Agence France-Presse
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
IOL News
2 hours ago
- IOL News
European, Iranian diplomats to meet as US mulls joining Israel campaign
US President Donald Trump Image: (Photo by Michael Kappeler / AFP European foreign ministers will hold talks Friday with their Iranian counterpart, hoping to reach a diplomatic solution to the war with Israel as US President Donald Trump mulls the prospect of US involvement. Israel, claiming Iran was on the verge of developing a nuclear weapon, launched air strikes against its arch-enemy a week ago, triggering deadly exchanges. Sirens sounded in southern Israel on Friday morning after missiles were launched from Iran, the Israeli army said. It earlier warned people in Iran's northern industrial area of Sefidrood to evacuate ahead of Israeli strikes. Israeli police said they, emergency response teams and bomb disposal experts were operating "at the site of a projectile impact" in a southern city, while the rescue service said it had not received reports of any wounded. The country's military, meanwhile, said it had struck dozens of targets in Tehran overnight, including what it called a centre for the "research and development of Iran's nuclear weapons project". European leaders urging de-escalation have scrambled to hold talks with Iran, as Trump said he would decide "within the next two weeks" whether to involve the United States in Israel's bombing campaign. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will meet with his French, German, British and EU counterparts in Geneva on Friday to discuss Iran's nuclear programme. Britain's Foreign Secretary David Lammy said "a window now exists within the next two weeks to achieve a diplomatic solution", after meeting senior US officials in Washington on Thursday. Lammy and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio "agreed Iran can never develop or acquire a nuclear weapon", according to the State Department. Netanyahu welcomed the prospect of US involvement in its campaign, while Russia, an Iranian ally, told the United States that joining the conflict would be an "extremely dangerous step". The UN Security Council is also due to convene on Friday for a second session on the conflict, which was requested by Iran with support from Russia, China and Pakistan, a diplomat told AFP on Wednesday. While Netanyahu has not publicly said that Israel is trying to topple Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, defence minister Israel Katz warned after the strike on Israel's Soroka hospital that Khamenei "can no longer be allowed to exist". A week of deadly exchanges between the two countries has plunged the Middle East into a new crisis, more than 20 months into the war between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Panic and blackouts Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has sworn Iran will "pay a heavy price" for the strike on Soroka on Thursday, an attack Tehran said was targeting a military and intelligence base. Hospital director Shlomi Codish said 40 people were wounded in the strike that destroyed several wards. World Health Organization director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called attacks on health facilities "appalling", while UN rights chief Volker Turk said civilians were being treated as "collateral damage". In Iran, people fleeing Israel's attacks described frightening scenes and difficult living conditions, including food shortages and limited internet access. "Those days and nights were very horrifying... hearing sirens, the wailing, the danger of being hit by missiles," University of Tehran student Mohammad Hassan told AFP, after returning to his native Pakistan. "People are really panicking," a 50-year-old Iranian pharmacist who did not want to be named told AFP at a crossing on the border with Turkey. Iran imposed a "nationwide internet shutdown" on Thursday -- the most extensive blackout since widespread anti-government protests in 2019 -- internet watchdog NetBlocks said. Iran also appointed Brigadier General Majid Khadami as the new chief of intelligence for the Revolutionary Guards on Thursday, the official IRNA news agency said, after his predecessor was killed in an Israeli strike last week. Any US involvement in Israel's campaign against Iran would be expected to involve the bombing of a crucial underground nuclear facility in Fordo, using specially developed bunker-busting bombs. Dozens of US military aircraft were no longer visible at a US base in Qatar on Thursday, satellite images showed -- a possible move to shield them from potential Iranian strikes. Nuclear sites White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed Iran was "a couple of weeks" away from producing an atomic bomb. Iran had been enriching uranium to 60 percent -- far above the 3.67-percent limit set by the 2015 deal, but still short of the 90 percent needed for a nuclear warhead. A key Iranian government body, the Guardian Council, threatened a "harsh response" if "the criminal American government and its stupid president... take action against Islamic Iran". On Thursday, Israel said it struck "dozens" of Iranian targets overnight, including the partially built Arak nuclear reactor and a uranium enrichment facility in Natanz.
eNCA
3 hours ago
- eNCA
Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi marks 80th birthday in junta jail
NAYPYIDAW - Myanmar's deposed democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi marked her 80th birthday in junta detention on Thursday, serving a raft of sentences set to last the rest of her life. Suu Kyi was the figurehead of Myanmar's decade-long democratic thaw, becoming de facto leader as it opened up from military rule. But as the generals snatched back power in a 2021 coup, she was locked up on charges ranging from corruption to breaching Covid-19 pandemic restrictions and is serving a 27-year sentence. "It will be hard to be celebrating at the moment," said her 47-year-old son Kim Aris from the UK. "We've learned to endure when it's been going on so long." He has run 80 kilometres over the eight days leading up to her birthday, and collected over 80,000 well-wishing video messages for his mother. But Suu Kyi will not see them, sequestered in Myanmar's sprawling capital Naypyidaw from where the military directs a civil war against guerilla fighters, many of whom took up arms in response to the toppling of her government. Aris said he has heard from his mother only once via letter two years ago since she was imprisoned. "We have no idea what condition she's in," he said, adding that he fears she is suffering from untreated medical problems with her heart, bones and gums. Myanmar junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun told AFP late on Thursday Suu Kyi "is in good health", without providing any further details. No formal celebrations took place in junta-held parts of Myanmar, but a gaggle of followers in military-controlled Mandalay city staged a spontaneous protest ahead of her birthday, local media said. A few masked protestors showered a street with pamphlets reading "freedom from fear" and "happy birthday" as one member held up a portrait of Suu Kyi in shaky camera footage shared on social media. While Suu Kyi remains hugely popular in the majority Buddhist country, her status as a democracy icon abroad collapsed before the military takeover after she defended the generals in their crackdown against the Rohingya. Hundreds of thousands of the Muslim minority were sent fleeing to neighbouring Bangladesh under her rule, though some argued she was powerless against the lingering influence of Myanmar's military. Nonetheless, institutions and figures that once showered Suu Kyi with awards rapidly distanced themselves, and her second round of imprisonment has received far less international attention.
eNCA
3 hours ago
- eNCA
European, Iranian diplomats to meet as US mulls joining Israel campaign
JERUSALEM - European foreign ministers will hold talks on Friday with their Iranian counterpart, hoping to reach a diplomatic solution to the war with Israel as US President Donald Trump mulls the prospect of US involvement. Israel, claiming Iran was on the verge of developing a nuclear weapon, launched air strikes against its arch-enemy a week ago, triggering deadly exchanges. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has sworn Iran will "pay a heavy price" for a strike on an Israeli hospital on Thursday, an attack Tehran said was targeting a military and intelligence base. European leaders urging de-escalation have scrambled to hold talks with Iran, as Trump said he would decide "within the next two weeks" whether to involve the United States in Israel's bombing campaign. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will meet with his French, German, British and EU counterparts in Geneva on Friday to discuss Iran's nuclear programme. AFP | JACK GUEZ Britain's Foreign Secretary David Lammy said "a window now exists within the next two weeks to achieve a diplomatic solution", after meeting senior US officials in Washington on Thursday. Lammy and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio "agreed Iran can never develop or acquire a nuclear weapon", according to the State Department. Netanyahu welcomed the prospect of US involvement in its campaign, while Russia, an Iranian ally, told the United States that joining the conflict would be an "extremely dangerous step". The UN Security Council is also due to convene on Friday for a second session on the conflict, which was requested by Iran with support from Russia, China and Pakistan, a diplomat told AFP on Wednesday. AFP | AHMAD GHARABLI While Netanyahu has not publicly said that Israel is trying to topple Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, defence minister Israel Katz warned after the strike on Israel's Soroka hospital that Khamenei "can no longer be allowed to exist". A week of deadly exchanges between the two countries has plunged the Middle East into a new crisis, more than 20 months into the war between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip. - Panic - Soroka hospital's director Shlomi Codish said 40 people were wounded in Iran's strike. "Several wards were completely demolished and there is extensive damage across the entire hospital," he said. AFP | JOHN WESSELS "It's only medical professionals here, and patients... and look what happened to us," ophthalmologist Wasim Hin told AFP. World Health Organization director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called attacks on health facilities "appalling", while UN rights chief Volker Turk said civilians were being treated as "collateral damage". In Iran, people fleeing Israel's attacks described frightening scenes and difficult living conditions, including food shortages and limited internet access. "Those days and nights were very horrifying... hearing sirens, the wailing, the danger of being hit by missiles," University of Tehran student Mohammad Hassan told AFP, after returning to his native Pakistan. "People are really panicking," a 50-year-old Iranian pharmacist who did not want to be named told AFP at a crossing on the border with Turkey. Iran imposed a "nationwide internet shutdown" on Thursday -- the most extensive blackout since widespread anti-government protests in 2019 -- internet watchdog NetBlocks said. The shutdown "impacts the public's ability to stay connected at a time when communications are vital", NetBlocks wrote on X. Any US involvement in Israel's campaign against Iran would be expected to involve the bombing of a crucial underground Iranian nuclear facility in Fordo, using specially developed bunker-busting bombs. The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump told aides he had approved attack plans but was holding off to see if Iran would give up its nuclear programme. The US president had favoured a diplomatic route to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons -- an ambition Tehran has consistently denied -- seeking a deal to replace the 2015 agreement he tore up in his first term. Dozens of US military aircraft were no longer visible at a US base in Qatar on Thursday, satellite images showed -- a possible move to shield them from potential Iranian strikes. - Nuclear sites - White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed Iran was "a couple of weeks" away from producing an atomic bomb. Iran had been enriching uranium to 60 percent -- far above the 3.67-percent limit set by the 2015 deal, but still short of the 90 percent needed for a nuclear warhead. Israel has maintained ambiguity on its own arsenal, but the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute says it has 90 nuclear warheads. A key Iranian government body, the Guardian Council, threatened a "harsh response" if "the criminal American government and its stupid president... take action against Islamic Iran". On Thursday, Israel said it struck "dozens" of Iranian targets overnight, including the partially built Arak nuclear reactor and a uranium enrichment facility in Natanz. Iranian atomic energy agency chief Mohammad Eslami confirmed in a letter to the UN nuclear watchdog that the Arak reactor was hit, demanding action to stop Israel's "violation of international regulations". In the central Israeli city of Bat Yam, the body of a woman was found in a site hit on Sunday, taking the death toll in Israel from Iranian missiles since June 13 to 25 people, according to authorities. Iran said Sunday that Israeli strikes had killed at least 224 people, including military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians.
