After permitting under-18s to view a World Press Photo exhibition that included pictures of LGBT people in defiance of laws prohibiting the “promotion of homosexuality” to minors, the government of Hungary fired the director of the National Museum on Monday.
Laszlo Simon, the director of the museum, was fired on Monday, according to the minister for culture and innovation, for not adhering “to the legal obligations of the institution.”
A government investigation into the exhibition was started by the far-right Mi Hazank (Our Homeland) party last month, which sparked tensions over it.
The photojournalist Hannah Reyes Morales’ central investigation, Home for the Golden Gays, follows the residents of an LGBT senior care facility in Manila, Philippines, which is run by the community.
A 2021 law that forbids the “display and promotion of homosexuality” in literature and motion pictures that are available to readers under the age of eighteen was cited by Mi Hazank.
The EU and human rights organizations have criticized the law, which is supposed to protect children, according to the government of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
Following the government probe, the museum stated that it was not authorised to request identification from visitors in order to verify their age, but it did post a notice on its website urging those who are younger than 18 to avoid the exhibit.
In a Facebook post, Simon said he was fired, but he refuted claims the museum had broken any laws on purpose.
According to him, the institute “without delay” noted the age restriction on its website.
The ministry of culture and government spokespeople are yet to respond on Simon’s claims.
Long lines formed outside the museum over the weekend, and Simon, a former lawmaker in Orbán’s conservative Fidesz party, thanked Mi Hasank in an earlier Facebook post for promoting the exhibition.
This year, a few Hungarian booksellers received fines for selling homosexuality-themed books that weren’t legally required to be wrapped in plastic.