The Budapest Metropolitan Court has reversed a police ban on Pride in the Hungarian capital. The court refuted claims that the march would cause an undue disruption of traffic.

The Pride march was cancelled by authorities after organisers applied for an extension to the normal route, which approaches but does not pass the Hungarian parliament. The ban was condemned by Amnesty International as well as numerous LGBT groups in Hungary.

“The court’s decision was a victory not only for the community of lesbians, gays, bisexual and transgender people, but for the right of all Hungarians to freedom of assembly,” said Boris Dittrich, a spokesperson for the Human Rights Watch. “Instead of trying to obstruct the fundamental rights to freedom of assembly and expression, the police authorities should fulfill their obligation to protect the demonstrators.”

The Human Rights Watch claim that the ban contravened Articles 11, 14, 15 and 16 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. These clauses are designed to protect freedom of expression and assembly within Council of Europe member states.

A Pride event was cancelled and reinstated under similar circumstances in Budapest during 2008. The ensuing march came under attack from counter-demonstrators who threw eggs, bottles, cobblestones and explosive devices before the way was cleared by police. Police protection ensured that last year’s march did not suffer from a similar attack.

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