Speaker of Parliament László Kövér has imposed a record-breaking fine on members of the Momentum party and independent MP Ákos Hadházy after they disrupted a parliamentary session with smoke bombs during a vote on banning Pride events.

During last Tuesday’s session, opposition MPs played the Soviet anthem and scattered photos of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Russian President Vladimir Putin kissing across the chamber. In response, Kövér fined five Momentum MPs and Hadházy a combined total of 82 million forints (around 225,000 euros).

Additionally, MPs Dávid Bedő, Lajos Lőcsei, and Ákos Hadházy, who handled the smoke devices, were banned from Parliament for 12 sitting days, while Ferenc Gelencsér, Éva Sebők, and Endre Tóth, who participated from the gallery, were suspended for six days. Bedő, Lőcsei, and Hadházy are expected to be barred from entering Parliament until 21 May.

This ban is considered historic, as there are no examples of members being banned in such a way in the last 35 years of Hungarian democracy.

Kövér justified the penalties by citing the MPs’ ‘unprecedented behaviour’ as ‘provocatively anti-social’, claiming that the use of smoke bombs endangered the health of those present and damaged the dignity of Parliament.

In reaction, Momentum and Hadházy announced a protest scheduled for Tuesday at 5pm at Elisabeth Bridge in Budapest.

The new law passed during the disrupted session bans public gatherings that promote homosexuality, allowing organizers and participants to be fined up to 200,000 forints.

Read more: