Hungary’s police on Friday questioned the mayor of Budapest as a suspect for having organised the city’s 30th Pride parade, which in June attracted a record turnout despite an official ban.
If the environmentalist mayor Gergely Karacsony is charged and convicted, he could spend up to a year in prison for organising and encouraging participation in a banned rally.
“They described the accusation. I said that I considered this to be unfounded and that I will lodge a complaint against it,” Karacsony told journalists after having been questioned for more than an hour.
He did not answer any questions posed by investigators, but contested the accusations levelled against him on legal grounds, he added.
Karacsony said he thought the investigation would likely be put to rest ahead of next year’s election.
Police confirmed to AFP that “an interrogation of a suspect” as part of an ongoing probe took place on Friday, but declined to say who they had questioned.
Karacsony wore a T-shirt featuring the capital’s coat of arms overlaid with rainbow colours when he arrived at the headquarters of Hungary’s top investigative authority.
He addressed a few hundred supporters gathered outside, saying Budapest Pride showed that “neither freedom nor love can be banned in Budapest.
“And if it cannot be banned, it cannot be punished,” he added.
Pride organisers said more than 200,000 people took part in the June 28 parade in what they said was a rebuke of Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s years-long clampdown on LGBTQ rights in the name of “child protection”.
After the nationalist leader declared his intention to ban this year’s celebration, his ruling coalition in parliament passed new laws to prohibit the annual parade.
Budapest city hall stepped in to co-organise the event, arguing the police cannot legally ban a municipal event.
Before the march, Orban warned organisers and attendees of “legal consequences”.
The National Bureau of Investigation — tasked with investigating serious and complex crimes — later launched a probe against an “unknown perpetrator” for organising a banned rally.
But police announced last month they would not take action against participants, who could have faced fines up to 500 euros ($570) for attending the Pride parade.
