Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Monday slammed as a “disgrace” the Budapest Pride parade at the weekend that drew a record turnout despite a ban issued by police.
Organisers estimated that over 200,000 people took part in the 30th parade in the Hungarian capital on Saturday, in a rebuke of the nationalist leader’s anti-LGBTQ policies.
Earlier this year, the governing coalition amended laws and the constitution to prohibit the annual celebration, citing “child protection” to justify the increased clampdown on LGBTQ rights.
“I am one of those who do not consider what happened to be a source of pride… I say it is a disgrace,” Orban said in his first public reaction, according to an excerpt released on social media from a television interview to be broadcast later.
Before the event, Orban vowed police would not break up the Pride march, but warned those who would take part in it about “legal consequences”.
Organisers risk up to a year in prison, and attendees can face fines up to 500 euros ($590).
The latest legal changes empowered authorities to use facial-recognition technology to identify those taking part, with cameras having been temporarily installed on lamp posts along the parade route.
Police told AFP that they are “probing the events that took place at Saturday’s gathering”.
Pride organisers, including the Budapest city hall which co-hosted the march so it could go ahead, disputed the legality of the police ban, which also drew international condemnation.
Budapest mayor Gergely Karacsony did thank police for providing the event’s security.
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