Hungarian educator faces criminal prosecution for organizing Pride March in test of EU values

A prominent human rights campaigner and educator in Hungary is facing a criminal investigation and potential prison time for organizing a peaceful Pride march, a development that advocates describe as an "unprecedented and dangerous" escalation in the erosion of civil liberties within the European Union.

Géza Buzás-Hábel, a Romani LGBTQ+ activist, was instrumental in organizing the fifth annual Pride event in the southern city of Pécs in early October. The march, which stands alongside Budapest Pride as the only other annual LGBTQ+ gathering in the nation, saw record turnout this year. Approximately 8,000 supporters—including several Members of the European Parliament—filled the streets to champion diversity and the coexistence of minorities.

As The Guardian reports, the event took place under the shadow of increasingly authoritarian policies enacted by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. In March, Orbán’s right-wing populist government passed legislation banning Pride events and authorizing the use of facial recognition technology to identify and fine participants—a move condemned by Amnesty International as a "full-frontal attack" on the LGBTQ+ community.

Despite a ban confirmed by police and Hungary’s highest court, the Diverse Youth Network, co-founded by Buzás-Hábel, proceeded with the march as a defense of fundamental rights.

"We decided to hold Pécs Pride, despite the ban, because Hungary must remain a European country," Buzás-Hábel stated. "Freedom of assembly is a fundamental human right, and we cannot allow political decisions to limit our community’s visibility or self-expression. Pride is not just a march – it is a message: queer people exist even when others try to silence or ban us."

In the days following the event, Buzás-Hábel was summoned by police for interrogation. His case has since been forwarded to the prosecutor’s office with a recommendation to press charges for organizing and inciting participation in a prohibited assembly. If convicted, he faces a suspended prison sentence of up to three years.

The legal persecution comes on the heels of professional retaliation. Buzás-Hábel was fired last year from his state employment as a teacher of Romani language and culture, a role he held for nearly a decade, and was also dismissed from a mentorship position at a music center. A criminal conviction would result in a permanent ban from the teaching profession.

The case has drawn sharp condemnation from international human rights bodies. In a joint statement released in October, four Hungarian rights organizations warned that this represents a grim milestone for the continent.

"This is the first known case in the European Union where a human rights defender faces criminal prosecution for organizing a Pride march – a step until now only seen in Russia or Turkey," the statement read.

Advocates are now calling on the European Commission to intervene, viewing the prosecution as a critical test of the EU's commitment to protecting democratic values among its member states. The European Roma Rights Centre echoed these sentiments, stating that no individual should be criminalized for peaceful assembly anywhere in Europe.

"If a teacher in an EU member state can face prison for organizing a Pride march, it is not only Hungarian democracy that is at stake, but the credibility of the European Union itself," the rights groups concluded. "A gay Roma teacher in southern Hungary should not have to risk going to prison to remind the EU what its values mean."