Hungarian pizzeria owner fined for not serving Gypsies

The Equal Opportunity Authority (EBH) has imposed a Ft 600,000 (€2,360) fine on a pizzeria in Jászapáti, Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok County, for not serving Roma (Gypsy) customers, reports news portal origo.hu.

The owner of the Guri Pizzéria, Imre Urbán, placed a sign on the establishment in November 2006 that said: "We don't serve Gypsies." Urbán claimed that he had put up the sign to prevent incidents at the establishment for which he said Gypsy customers were responsible. He also said that he had asked local police before putting up the sign whether it was acceptable, and he was told that he could display it.

Police Spokeswoman Ágnes Kovács Pásztorné denied that the police had given authorization for the sign. She said that Urbán had turned to the police several times to ask what he could do about rowdy customers but never filed a report against anyone. She added that police had informed Urbán that he had to remove the sign but had the option of organizing "private events" at his pizzeria, in which case he had a right to decide who could enter.

Urbán apparently took this advice. He replaced the first sign with one that says "private event," and created an unofficial group called "Circle of Guri's Friends." He declined to tell the portal how one could participate at these private events.

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