Police ban Budapest Pride march in Hungary, but mayor vows it will go ahead

It's the latest twist in a cat-and-mouse confrontation between the government and Hungary's LGBTQ community.

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"Budapest city hall will organise the Budapest Pride march as a local event on 28 June, Period," vowed the mayor.

It's the latest twist in a cat-and-mouse confrontation which pits nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban's Fidesz government, backed by the city police, against Hungary's LGBTQ community and its supporters, with some legal backing from the courts.

The annual Pride march has been in doubt since Orban announced in February that it would not take place this year, and a law was then passed restricting gatherings if they broke child protection laws on public promotion of homosexuality.

Karacsony said police had no right to ban a "Day of Freedom", organised by the city council as an umbrella event for Pride, as it does not come under the rules on freedom of assembly.