Amnesty International denounces the criminalization of Pride in Hungary

The organization demands that charges be dropped against Géza Buzás-Hábel, organizer of the 2025 Pécs Pride march, and warns that the case represents an escalation in the persecution of the LGTBIQ+ community in the country.

In mid-February, the Pécs District Prosecutor's Office, in Baranya County, informed Géza Buzás-Hábel that it had filed charges against him for organizing the Pride march in that city. The Pécs court could impose a sentence of up to one year in prison.

This comes in a context in which the LGTBIQ+ community in Hungary is being persecuted. Last year, a reform was passed that prohibits mobilizing in support of the community. Despite this, teacher and human rights activist Géza Buzás-Hábel continued to demonstrate.

In defiance of the police and the Supreme Court, the fifth Pécs Pride march was held in October 2025 under the slogan “we will not bow to fear.” Residents mobilized peacefully against restrictions on the right of assembly and in favor of equality for the LGTBIQ+ community.

The court case against Géza Buzás-Hábel

The Pécs Prosecutor's Office charged Buzás-Hábel with the offense of violating the freedom of association and assembly, since he disobeyed a ban previously imposed by Hungary's Supreme Court.

A statement from the Public Prosecutor's Office explained that in September the teacher and activist notified the local police of his intention to hold the Pride march, with the participation of around a thousand people. The institutional response was to ban the mobilization the following day, under the amendment to the Child Protection Act. Buzás-Hábel challenged the measure in court.

Regarding the charges against the Hungarian activist, Dávid Vig, director of Amnesty International Hungary, stated that he had done nothing wrong and that organizing the Pride march in Pécs was an act of courage. Vig said they felt “outrage” because, instead of being threatened with a criminal conviction, Géza Buzás-Hábel should be praised for defending equality and human rights.

On February 13, Amnesty International issued an Urgent Action on the case of Géza Buzás-Hábel, a human rights defender and organizer of Pécs Pride. In a document, it stated that the ban was arbitrary and discriminatory because it is based on legislation that characterizes the struggle for LGTBIQ+ rights as harmful to children.

In the text, the organization demands that the Prosecutor's Office “drop the charges and halt the criminal proceedings,” arguing that organizing a Pride march is protected by European and international human rights standards. Amnesty International also warns that this case is closely linked to the escalating discrimination and criminalization of freedom of expression in Hungary.

Since 2021, policies against the LGTBIQ+ community in Hungary have been tightened, state powers to go after activists have been expanded, and since then tools such as facial recognition have been used to identify and fine those who take part in gatherings deemed prohibited.

The legal framework behind the ban

On April 14, 2025, the Hungarian Parliament passed legislation enabling constitutional changes promoted by Viktor Orbán's government. With the law, Orbán has free rein to ban LGBTIQ+ mobilizations and, in addition, it recognizes only two genders, men or women.

Viktor Orbán returned to power in Hungary in 2010, and since then he has set about restricting the rights of the LGTBIQ+ community, gatherings of human rights activists, the media and the academic community. Those opposed to the Hungarian government say these measures are used as a political tool to consolidate support among conservative sectors.

The first countries to draw attention to the laws promoted by the Hungarian Parliament were the BENELUX countries (Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg), which published a statement condemning Orbán's government.

The BENELUX countries say they are concerned about the anti-LGTBIQ+ rights laws in Hungary and stated that, to be part of the European family, it is essential to respect and protect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all people. For these countries, this is a responsibility shared by all EU member states, and the government of Hungary should comply with these principles.

The Orbán government justifies its restrictive policy against the LGTBIQ+ community on the pretext of child “protection.” Orbán himself stated that he “defends homosexual rights” and that the law passed last July “has nothing to do with them,” but rather with the rights of children and parents. Meanwhile, several organizations point out that this premise is used to justify repression, violence and discrimination, and that the boys and girls of Hungary are not protected against that. 

Guillermo Whpei

President of Fundación para la Democracia