On Wednesday 10 December, the European branch of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association, Ilga-Europe, organised a press conference at the Press Club Brussels Europe, where NGOs and politicians sounded the alarm about the investigation and the risk of criminal prosecution faced in Hungary by the organiser of the Pécs Pridemarch on 4 October (see EUROPE 13720/23), Géza Buzás-Hábel.
The latter, who said he would not be intimidated despite pressure from the authorities, faces imprisonment of up to one year.
Eszter Mihály, LGBTQI+ Rights Officer at Amnesty International Hungary, pointed out that the amendments to the Hungarian law on the right of assembly adopted on 18 March under the fast-track procedure, without any public consultation or substantial debate, now allow the police to disperse any demonstration the content of which “deviates” from the initial notification.
According to civil society organisations, this law could be used to control participation in political debate during the election campaign, beyond pride marches, potentially facilitating the instrumentalisation of the right of assembly.
The organisations point out that the restrictions are aimed at civic space as a whole.
The Vice-President of the European Parliament, Nicolae Ștefănuță (Greens/EFA, Romanian), called for full use of the institutional and political tools available to the EU, such as resolutions, greater use of Article 7 and more pressure on the European Commission, which he considered too cautious. “If we let this battle pass us by, we will lose our credibility in Europe”, he stressed. (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)