Police ban Budapest Pride Parade in Hungary, but mayor vows to continue

Police banned Hungary’s annual Budapest Pride march later this month, prompting Liberal mayor Gergely Karacsony to respond in a rebellious response.

The mayor vowed: “Budapest City Hall will organize the Budapest Pride Parade at a local event held on June 28.”

This is the latest twist in the cat-and-mouse confrontation, which has brought nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s Fedes government, backed by the city police, against the LGBTQ community in Hungary and its supporters, and has received some legal support from the court.

Since Orban announced in February that it would not be held, it is a question that they have restricted gatherings through laws if they violated the child protection law that openly promotes homosexuality.

Caraxon said police had no right to ban the city council’s “Freedom Day” as a proud umbrella event because it did not comply with the rules of freedom of the congress.

Thousands of people from Hungary and abroad are expected to attend the event on June 28.

“They might as well try to ban unicorns,” the mayor wrote on Facebook.

Under the new law passed in March, all participants identified by police as participants using facial recognition software can be fined between £14 and £420.

Tamas Menczer, head of Fidds Communications, told News Portal 444: “Protecting children is more than all other laws. We have changed the law, we will do politics in the future, and we will take action in the future.”

“Pride has nothing to do with freedom of expression or freedom of assembly…Pride is a festival, a festival of a certain sex community, and it is not suitable for children to see.”

Viktor Orban announced in his annual national speech last February that Pride organizers “no need to bother this year.” The law after next month limits the right to authorize convening rights if it violates the Child Protection Act of 2021.

To address this issue, the Rainbow Mission Foundation organized by Pride and other human rights groups in Hungary, announced a series of events on June 28 in solidarity with pride.

But they let the authorities guess which event would mark the pride itself. So far, police tried to ban the incidents from the Hungarian Supreme Court, Curia, thwarted two rulings.

The mayor of Budapest then announced their freedom in a joint Facebook video on June 16 with Budapest Pride spokesman Hegedus, and announced their freedom from early morning to evening.

The mayor wrote to the police that the central event would be a parade through the city and that the incident “is not pride.”

“There will be no trucks, no dancers, no sexual behavior in any form.” He insists that the purpose is only “to make the capital of the state free.”

That’s why police are trying to prevent now, citing that underage bystanders may witness the parade regardless of the age they actually participated, their dressing style or the banner they carried.

Budapest Police Chief Tamas Terdik argued in a 16-page document released by the police that it would violate the Child Protection Act and justify the ban.

So, what will happen on June 28?

Human rights organization Hungary Helsinki Commission (HHC), It is recommended that anyone who refuses to pay on the same day Any on-site fines.

They advise anyone who receives notice through the post to demand the right to seek face-to-face appeal with the police or whether it fails in court.

The HHC believes that the more people are involved, the less likely the police are to try this situation, as it can create a huge backlog for police and courts.