Budapest, Hungary. Hungarian prosecutors said on Thursday they had dropped charges against Budapest Mayor Gergely Karacsony over his role in organising a 2025 LGBTQ+ rights rally. They cited a ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union on Hungary’s 2021 child protection law, which had been used as a basis for banning the event.
Charges withdrawn after EU court ruling
Prosecutors had charged Karacsony in January before the election, saying he had violated the law by organising and leading a banned assembly.
On Thursday, prosecutors said they dropped the charges after a late-April ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union found that Hungary’s 2021 child protection law violated EU law.
“Considering the ruling by the European Court … the prosecutors dropped charges against the Budapest mayor for violating the law on freedom of assembly,” prosecutors said.
June march proceeded despite police ban
Tens of thousands of protesters marched through Budapest in June 2025 despite a police ban, turning the Pride march into a mass anti-government demonstration in one of the biggest shows of opposition to former nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
Karacsony had attempted to circumvent the police ban by registering the Pride march as a municipal event, which he argued did not require a permit. The march in downtown Budapest ultimately went ahead peacefully.
Political backdrop
Orban was ousted in a landmark election on April 12 after 16 years in power by the centre-right Tisza party.
EU court findings
The European court found that the legislation unlawfully restricted access to content portraying homosexuality and gender variance and breached fundamental rights and EU values.
