BUDAPEST (Reuters) – Hungary’s president has signed a law proposed by Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s ruling party that prohibits LGBTQ+ communities from holding their annual Pride march, despite criticism from human rights organizations that it limits freedom of assembly.
Protesters blocked a bridge in central Budapest on Tuesday evening after parliament passed the measure, which expedited a law proposed by Orban’s right-wing Fidesz party on Monday.
President Tamas Sulyok, a former Constitutional Court chief elected to the largely ceremonial position by the Fidesz parliamentary majority a year ago, signed the legislation. His office did not respond to Reuters’ questions on Wednesday.
The law prohibits Pride because it may be harmful to children. It also states that police can use facial recognition cameras to identify event attendees and fine them.
Orban, who is dealing with a struggling economy and an unprecedented challenge from a new opposition party ahead of the 2026 election, has long been hostile to the LGBT community.
His policies frequently place him at odds with the rest of the European Union. On X, Hadja Lahbib, the EU commissioner for equality, stated that “the right to gather peacefully is a fundamental right to be championed across the European Union”.
Michael O’Flaherty, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, an independent institution promoting human rights in Europe, said he was “very concerned” about the new law and urged Sulyok to veto it late Tuesday.
Gergely Karacsony, Budapest’s liberal mayor, also criticized the law, saying this year’s Pride “could be bigger than ever”. Organizers said they planned to hold this year’s march on June 28 despite the ban.
“Budapest is the city of freedom, and there will be pride,” Karacsony stated.
Orban, who has been in office since 2010, has also promised to crack down on foreign funding for independent media and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), emboldened by moves by his ally, US President Donald Trump.
