Hungarian police to decide whether Budapest Pride should be banned, government says

Budapest Police to Determine Fate of Pride March Amid Legal Dispute

BUDAPEST (Reuters) -Police will decide whether the Budapest Pride event can be held even though Budapest's mayor has tried to circumvent a law by organising the march as a municipal event, Prime Minister Viktor Orban's chief of staff said on Wednesday.

The legal controversy comes after Budapest's liberal mayor Gergely Karacsony announced on Monday that since the Budapest Pride on June 28 will be a municipal event, "no permits from authorities are needed."

Hungary’s parliament, in which Orban's right-wing Fidesz Party has a big majority, passed legislation in March that creates a legal basis for police to ban LGBTQ marches, citing protection of children. It also lets police use facial recognition cameras to identify people who attend.

Orban's chief of staff Gergely Gulyas told a briefing that Budapest tried to "play a trick" but the event would nonetheless belong under the legislation that governs the right to assemble, and police would assess the event accordingly.

"In case of events belonging under the law on the right to assemble, police can ban these events," Gulyas said.

The Budapest metropolitan police said on its website that it would assess the city's announcement. Orban's party has included legislation that protecting children should supersede the right to assemble.

Karacsony said the event on June 28 would celebrate freedom.

Orban faces a challenging election in 2026 where a new surging opposition party poses a threat to his rule.

His government has a Christian conservative agenda and its intensifying campaign against the LGBTQ community has aimed to please Fidesz's core voters.

Orban said in February that organisers "should not even bother" organising Pride in Budapest this year.

(Reporting by Krisztina Than and Anita KomuvesEditing by Bernadette Baum)