Sun Aug 03 12:50:00 UTC 2025: ## Budapest Mayor Questioned Over Banned LGBTQ+ March

**Budapest, Hungary** – Budapest Mayor Gergely Karacsony was questioned by police on Friday as a suspect in helping to organize a banned LGBTQ+ march that drew a record 200,000 people to the city on June 28th. The march, which organizers say morphed into an anti-government protest, defied a ban imposed under a controversial law restricting gatherings that allegedly violate child protection laws related to the public promotion of homosexuality.

Karacsony, wearing a rainbow T-shirt emblazoned with the capital’s coat of arms, told supporters outside the National Bureau of Investigation that he considered the accusations unfounded and would lodge a complaint. “Neither freedom nor love can be banned in Budapest,” he declared.

The probe follows a law passed in March that has cast a shadow over the annual Pride march. The law restricts gatherings if they break child protection laws on the public promotion on homosexuality.Critics, including Karacsony, argue that the law is the latest in a series of measures targeting Hungary’s LGBTQ+ community. Previous measures include abolishing legal recognition of transgender people in 2020 and a 2021 law banning the depiction of homosexuality to under-18s.

Despite the threat of legal repercussions, Karacsony had vowed to organize the march as a local event, arguing that police lacked the authority to ban a municipal event. Last month, police announced they would not fine attendees, who could have faced penalties of up to €500.

However, the National Bureau of Investigation, which investigates serious and complex crimes, has now launched a probe against an “unknown perpetrator” accused of organizing the rally. If charged and convicted, Karacsony could face up to a year in prison.

Karacsony, accompanied by his lawyer, did not answer questions posed by investigators but presented them with a statement of his own. He maintains that “If it cannot be banned, it cannot be punished.” The case is likely to further inflame tensions between the Orban government and its critics who accuse it of undermining democratic values and human rights.

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