Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Friday, Aug 08, 2025

Book showing same-sex marriage suitable for children, European court rules

Book showing same-sex marriage suitable for children, European court rules

Restricting children’s access to fiction showcasing same-sex relationships is ‘illegitimate,’ the European Court of Human Rights says.
Labeling a fiction book with references to same-sex marriage as harmful to children violates freedom of expression, the European Court of Human Rights stated Monday in a landmark ruling.

“Restricting children’s access to such information had not pursued any aims that it could accept as legitimate,” the court’s ruling reads.

The case pitted the Lithuanian government against the author of a collection of fairytales whose storyline revolved, in some cases, around same-sex marriage. (For instance, a passage in one of the books described a princess and a shoemaker’s daughter sleeping in each other’s arms after their wedding.)

The distribution of that book, “Gintarinė širdis,” or “Amber Heart,” was suspended shortly after publication, in March 2014. When it resumed a year later, the books were distributed with a label warning their content could be harmful to children under 14.

The author, Neringa Macatė, filed a civil suit against the book’s publisher in Lithuania, arguing that references to same-sex relationships could not be considered as being harmful to children. After her claim was denied by Lithuanian courts at all levels, she filed a request in front of the ECHR in November 2019. She died in 2020.

In its ruling, the court found that “the measures against the applicant’s book had intended to limit children’s access to information depicting same-sex relationships as essentially equivalent different-sex relationships.”

This, the court found, violated Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which refers to the freedom of expression.

The court was not convinced by the Lithuanian government’s argument that the book had “promoted same-sex families over others.”

“To the contrary, the fairy tales had advocated respect for and acceptance of all members of society in a fundamental aspect of their lives, namely a committed relationship,” the court’s decision reads.

It is the first case where the ECHR was called on to rule on restricting access to children’s literature showing references to same-sex relationships.

The ruling was celebrated by LGBTQ+ rights organizations.

“Protection of children or public morals are too often used as a convenient pretext to restrict freedom of expression, and demonise and discriminate against members of the LGBTQI+ community,” said Barbora Bukovská, senior director for law and policy at the human rights NGO Article 19.

“With today’s verdict, the European Court has rejected this kind of scaremongering tactic and made clear that it cannot be tolerated.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
Germany Enters Fiscal Crisis as Cabinet Approves €174 Billion in New Debt
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Russia Formally Recognizes Taliban Government in Afghanistan
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Mediators Edge Closer to Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Agreement
Germany Seeks Taliban Deal to Deport Afghan Migrants
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Iran Executes Alleged Israeli Spies and Arrests Hundreds Amid Post-War Crackdown
Trump Asserts Readiness for Further Strikes on Iran Amid Nuclear Tensions
Qatar Airways Clears Backlog of Passengers Following Missile Threats
Iran's Parliament Votes to Suspend Cooperation with Nuclear Watchdog
Trump Announces Upcoming US-Iran Meeting Amid Controversial Airstrikes
Trump Moves to Reshape Middle East Following Israel-Iran Conflict
NATO Leaders Endorse Plan for Increased Defence Spending
U.S. Crude Oil Prices Drop Below $65 Amid Market Volatility
“You Have 12 Hours to Flee”: Israeli Threat Campaign Targets Surviving Iranian Officials
Oman Set to Introduce Personal Income Tax, First in Gulf
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Trump Praises Iran’s ‘Very Weak’ Response After U.S. Strikes and Presses Israel to Pursue Peace
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
We have new information and breaking details to share about what is shaping up to be a historic air campaign tonight
Six Massive Bombs Dropped on Fordow; Trump: 'A Historic Moment for the U.S., Israel, and the World'
Fordow: Deeply Buried Iranian Enrichment Site in U.S.–Israel Crosshairs
×