LGBTQ NGO to complain at top court about govt office censure of fairytale book

The consumer protection body condemned the NGO for failing to alert customers to the nature of the book containing fairytales retold to reflect the lives of sexual and ethnic minorities.

Labrisz said Hungary’s constitution prohibited discrimination and the NGO would turn to the top court about the government office’s decision. Labrisz added that it expected the top court to establish that it was discriminative and unconstitutional to condemn works that present marginalised groups.

The central government office of Budapest argued on Tuesday that the NGO had engaged in “unfair market practices” by failing to alert readers to “alternative gender roles” in the book that sparked controversy when it was published in the autumn. Customers bought the book on the basis of “misleading information”, the government office said.

Labrisz said the consumer protection body had failed to define what were the “traditional gender roles” that characters in the book deviated from.