Swatch to challenge seizure of rainbow watches in Malaysia
All the colours of the rainbow: Swatch.
Keystone / Sherwin
Swatch will be able to challenge the seizure of around 100 rainbow-coloured watches by authorities in Malaysia, where homosexuality is illegal, after a high court gave the go-ahead, a lawyer for the Swiss company said.
This content was published on
2 minutes
RTS/AFP
Español
es
Swatch impugnará la incautación de relojes arco iris en Malasia
In May, Swatch stores in 11 shopping malls were raided and watches confiscated because of “LGBTQ elements” by a police unit of the Ministry of Home Affairs in the Southeast Asian country where homosexuality is illegal.
The hearing is scheduled for September 6, the lawyer added.
The LGBTQ community is discriminated against in the Muslim-majority country, where homosexuality is punishable by prosecution and corporal punishment.
The government announced in early August, ahead of a key electoral deadline, that wearers or sellers of the Swiss manufacturer’s rainbow watches were now liable to three years’ imprisonment in Malaysia.
In May, 172 watches worth a total of $14,000 (CHF12,100) were seized.
Swatch had lodged a legal appeal, arguing that “its commercial reputation had been damaged”. “The watches do not promote any sexual activity, but only express peace and love in a joyful way,” the complaint stated.
The authorities had justified the watch seizures by pointing out that they risked “damaging the nation’s interests by promoting, supporting and normalising the LGBTQ movement which is not accepted by the general public”.
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate them into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles. You can find them here.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
Popular Stories
More
Swiss Politics
Swiss reject plans for bigger motorways and extra rights for landlords
This content was published on
It is not necessary to define Swiss neutrality more strictly, according to the Swiss government. The Federal Council has rejected the so-called “neutrality initiative”.
Swiss government to improve disaster alert system via mobile phones
This content was published on
The Federal Council wants to modernise the disaster warning system for the population with alerts sent via the mobile phone network and other digital channels.
Poll: most Swiss believe littering is steadily decreasing
This content was published on
Littering is steadily decreasing in Switzerland, according to an annual survey conducted by the Swiss Center of Excellence against Littering.
This content was published on
The Federal Criminal Court has acquitted UBS following appeal proceedings in connection with money laundering charges linked to the Bulgarian mafia. The bank inherited the case from Credit Suisse.
This content was published on
The Swiss Federal Railways (SBB/CFF) timetable change on December 15 will bring improvements for commuters. It will also have new night-time connections on long-distance and regional services.
Swiss launch healthcare initiative to improve working conditions of doctors and nurses
This content was published on
The Swiss authorities have launched an initiative to promote healthcare centres and improve working conditions for doctors, nurses and pharmacists.
Morges fatal shooting: police officer acted in self-defence, prosecutors conclude
This content was published on
The police officer who shot dead a black man at Morges train station in western Switzerland in 2021 acted in self-defence, the Office of the Attorney General of canton Vaud have concluded.
This content was published on
Switzerland has welcomed the announcement of a ceasefire deal between Israel and the Iran-backed group Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Gender wage gap is shrinking in Switzerland – slowly
This content was published on
The gender wage gap is narrowing in Switzerland, although it remains sizeable and partly unexplained: in 2022 women earned on average 16.2% less than their male counterparts.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.