Hungary, Budapest mayor under investigation over Pride: “I will not be intimidated”

Budapest, Jan. 28 (LaPresse) – “I refuse to be intimidated or silenced. I will never accept that defending freedom, freedom of speech, or love can be considered a crime. Despite threats or punishments, I will continue to fight. Freedom and love cannot be banned.” This was stated on X by Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony, after Hungarian authorities formally pressed charges against him for his involvement in organizing the Pride last June. “I was a suspect; now I am accused because I defended freedom—my own and that of others,” he wrote. Karácsony, Budapest’s mayor since 2019, came under police investigation following the June 28 demonstration, which took place despite a government ban. Prosecutors stated that Karácsony ignored the order and “repeatedly published public calls to participate in the demonstration, and then took part himself.”