Gay rights versus far right
Heavy police security ensured that the annual Budapest Pride parade passed off peacefully on Saturday, with several thousand participants marching from Heroes’ Square to Olympia Park on the Danube riverside – a record attendance according to the organisers. However, an alleged attack on three homeward-bound participants by far-right thugs has prompted a police investigation and expressions of concern from civil rights ombudsman Máté Szabó.
The small liberal party SZEMA said three of its members were assaulted near Nyugati railway station shortly after the official end of the event. According to a statement, some 30 “uniformed neo-Nazis” beat up their targets while shouting “Gypsy faggots”. SZEMA demanded an explanation from police and the Interior Ministry after it alleged that the three victims were subsequently subject to ID checks while the perpetrators were allowed to leave the scene.
