A rights campaigner in Hungary has been placed under investigation and is facing potential criminal charges after organising a peaceful Pride march, in a case that campaigners have described as “unprecedented and dangerous” for the EU.
In early October, thousands flocked to the southern city of Pécs to take part in Pride. It was the fifth year that the march was held – the only other annual Pride gathering in the country besides that of Budapest – and was becoming a showcase of the city’s commitment to freedom, diversity and the coexistence of minorities.
This year, however, politics loomed large. In March, the country’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, and his right-wing populist party voted to ban Pride events and allow the authorities to use facial recognition technology to identify and potentially fine those in attendance, a move Amnesty International described as a “full-frontal attack” on LGBTQ+ people.
Even so, in June 2025, tens of thousands of people defied the ban to march in Budapest after Pride was rebranded as a municipal cultural event.
Months later, Pécs Pride also attracted record numbers, with as many as 8,000 people, including several members of the European parliament, taking part despite the police and the country’s highest court confirming that the event was banned.
For the organiser, Géza Buzás-Hábel, the nightmare began soon after. “We decided to hold Pécs Pride, despite the ban, because Hungary must remain a European country,” the Romani LGBTQ+ activist said. “Freedom of assembly is a fundamental human right, and we cannot allow political decisions to limit our community’s visibility or self-expression.”
Organised by the Diverse Youth Network, a group co-founded and led by Buzás-Hábel, the march had taken on wider meaning in recent years as the Hungarian authorities aimed at LGBTQ+ people through a series of discriminatory measures. “If we don’t stand up for ourselves here, then where?” he said. “Pride is not just a march – it is a message: queer people exist even when others try to silence or ban us.”
Days after the march, he was summoned by the police for questioning. Soon after, his case was forwarded to the prosecutor’s office with a recommendation to press charges, including organising and calling for participation in a prohibited assembly, he said. Prosecutors are deciding on the next steps; Buzás-Hábel said he could be facing a suspended prison sentence of up to three years.
The consequences have already wreaked havoc on his life. In recent weeks, he was dismissed from his state job as a teacher after almost a decade teaching the Romani language and Roma culture. He was also dismissed from the music centre where he had worked as a mentor for five years.
“That experience broke me far more than the current criminal proceedings: losing my community, my students, and my colleagues was an enormous pain,” he said. “I never imagined, even in my worst nightmares, that such violations of rights could happen in a country that has been an EU member state since 2004.”
If charges are formally brought, he would be permanently barred from returning to teaching, he said.
