Hungary's president signs law banning Pride parade despite protests

BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Hungary's president has signed a law proposed by Prime Minister Viktor Orban's ruling party that will ban LGBTQ+ communities from holding their annual Pride march, defying criticism by human rights organisations that it restricts freedom of assembly.

Protesters blocked a bridge in central Budapest on Tuesday evening after parliament passed the measure, fast-tracking a law proposed by Orban's right-wing Fidesz party on Monday.

President Tamas Sulyok, a former Constitutional Court chief who was elected to the largely ceremonial position a year ago by the Fidesz parliamentary majority, signed the law. His office did not reply to Reuters questions on Wednesday.

The law bans Pride on the grounds that it could be considered harmful to children. It also says police can use face recognition cameras to identify people who attend the event, and impose fines on participants.

Orban, who is dealing with a struggling economy and an unprecedented challenge from a new opposition party ahead of a 2026 election, has long been critical of the LGBT community.

His policies often put him at odds with the rest of the European Union. Hadja Lahbib, the EU commissioner for equality, said on X that "the right to gather peacefully is a fundamental right to be championed across the European Union".

Michael O'Flaherty, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, an independent institution promoting human rights in Europe, said he was "very concerned" about the new law and late on Tuesday urged Sulyok to veto it.

Budapest's liberal mayor, Gergely Karacsony, also criticised the law and said this year's Pride "could be bigger than ever". Organisers said they planned to go ahead with this year's march - scheduled for June 28 - despite the ban.

"Budapest is the city of freedom, there will be Pride," Karacsony said.

Orban, in office since 2010, has also pledged to crack down on foreign funding of independent media and NGOs, emboldened by moves by his ally, U.S. President Donald Trump.

(Reporting by Krisztina Than; Editing by Frances Kerry)