Hungary’s second-largest bookstore, Lira, said on Friday it plans to take legal action after it received a hefty government fine for the sale of an LGBT-themed British webcomic and graphic novel aimed at teenagers without closed wrapping.
A Budapest government office on Thursday imposed a fine of 12 million forints ($36,000) on Lira, saying it broke the law by selling British author Alice Oseman’s “Heartstopper,” among other books for minors, without wrapping them in plastic foil.
The popular “Heartstopper” series, in which two gay teens fall in love, has also been adapted by Netflix as a romantic comedy-drama.
Krisztian Nyary, Lira’s creative director and a well-known author himself, told Reuters the fine was disproportionate, the law vaguely worded and that the bookstore would respond legally.
“As this is a resolution about a fine it cannot be appealed, it can only be attacked – in what way, our lawyers will assess,” he said. “We will use all legal means at our disposal.”
Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government promotes a strongly Christian-conservative agenda and passed a law in 2021 banning the “display and promotion of homosexuality” among those under the age of 18, despite strong criticism from rights groups and the European Union.
The measure was seen as resonating with Orban’s conservative voters in the countryside ahead of his fourth-term election win in 2022.
The European Commission, however, referred Hungary to the EU Court of Justice, claiming the law “discriminates against people on the basis of their sexual orientation and gender identity,”
Nyary said the law was vague at several points.
He said some publishers had already voluntarily wrapped their books, trying to comply, but that it was not clear whether it was enough to place books affected by the law on a shelf for literature aimed for adults.
He said another issue was whether LGBT-themed books meant for adults would also have to be wrapped up or whether those could be sold without packaging.
“This is all not clear,” he said.
This is not the first time a Hungarian government office has fined a bookstore for a violation of the law. The latest fine came ahead of a Pride march in Budapest on Saturday.
Earlier on Friday, the embassies of the United States, Germany and 36 other countries urged the Hungarian government to protect the rights of LGBT people and scrap laws that discriminate against them.
Gay marriage is not recognized in Hungary and only heterosexual couples can legally adopt children.