Hungary fines bookstore chain over LGBT+ novel Heartstopper

The Heartstopper series has been adapted into the Netflix television series of the same name (Netflix/PA)

A government office in Hungary has levied a hefty fine against a national bookseller over LGBT+ graphic novel Heartstopper, saying it violated a contentious law that prohibits the depiction of homosexuality to minors.

The bookseller, Lira Konyv, is Hungary’s second-largest bookstore chain. It was fined 12 million forints (£27,500) for placing the popular series by British author Alice Oseman in its youth literature section, and for failing to place it in closed packaging as required by a 2021 law.