13/11/2025
For the first time in the history of the European Union, a person is facing criminal charges for organising a Pride march.
Géza Buzás-Hábel, a teacher from Pécs, Hungary’s fifth largest city, has long been the organiser of Pécs Pride, Hungary’s only Pride event outside Budapest. He is also a dedicated educator who has taught Romani language and Roma culture at Europe’s first Roma nationality high school.
In October 2024, hundreds of people marched in Pécs after the assembly was banned under Hungary’s Pride ban. Now, Géza faces up to one year in prison. If convicted, he will lose his right to teach, simply for organising a peaceful Pride march.
The Hungarian government is using Géza’s case as a warning that those who organise peaceful protests risk imprisonment and the loss of their livelihoods.
This is not only a Hungarian issue. It is a European one. Freedom of assembly is protected under the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, the European Convention on Human Rights, and the values set out in Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union, all of which Hungary committed to when joining the EU.
It is time for the European Union to act. Infringement procedures and interim measures are urgently needed to ensure that this case cannot go ahead.
No EU citizen should face criminal charges or imprisonment for organising a peaceful protest.
If Géza Buzás-Hábel is jailed for organising Pécs Pride, it will represent a direct attack on the fundamental freedoms that the European Union was created to protect.
The EU must stand up for freedom, democracy and all its citizens.
All those who believe in the freedom to assemble and in the joy and solidarity of Pride must stand with GĂ©za.
Contact your Members of the European Parliament, call on them to act, and share his story widely.
Together, we must make sure that no one in Europe is punished for standing up for equality and human rights.
