Mini Pride march in Brussels calls for right to demonstrate in Hungary
A mini Pride march organised by Amnesty International took place on Wednesday in Brussels in response to the ban on Budapest Pride. The NGO, which denounces a violation of several fundamental rights, is urging the Hungarian authorities to authorise the march on Saturday.
The procession set off at around 10.30 from the European Parliament and made its way to Hungary’s permanent representation to the EU. Belgian MEP Yvan Verougstraete was among the marchers.
The action is part of the international Let Pride March campaign launched by the NGO. It follows the adoption of a Hungarian law banning Pride marches, which was passed on 18 March. The law also authorises the Hungarian government to use facial recognition to target participants.
Carine Thibaut of Amnesty International in Belgium called on the Hungarian authorities to understand that they cannot “with impunity flout the rights of LGBTQIA+ people and, more generally, fundamental freedoms such as freedom of expression and peaceful assembly”.
It is their duty to authorise and facilitate this peaceful demonstration, “which must be able to take place without intimidation, harassment or violence”, she said.
120,000 signatures
At the same time, a petition with more than 120,000 signatures from around the world, including some 16,000 in Belgium, was handed over to the Budapest police chief on Wednesday by an Amnesty International delegation in the Hungarian capital.
Last week, Hungarian police confirmed the ban on the 30th Budapest Pride march, three days after the city council decided to take over the organisation in an attempt to circumvent the recent law. The mayor immediately announced it would go ahead with the event despite the ban.
A participant in the Pride parade in Budapest, July 2023 © ATTILA KISBENEDEK / AFP / The Mini Pride march in Brussels, 25 June 2025 © BELGA VIDEO LOU LAMPAERT
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