Malaysian court orders return of Swatch watches seized over LGBTQ designs

Home Minister says authorities volition await court’s afloat judgement earlier deciding connected adjacent move.

A Malaysian tribunal has ordered the authorities to instrumentality dozens of Swatch watches seized by authorities implicit their designs celebrating LGBTQ pride.

The Kuala Lumpur High Court connected Monday ruled that the Ministry of Home Affairs should instrumentality the 172 rainbow-themed watches aft uncovering that they had been seized illegally without a hunt warrant.

Authorities confiscated the watches, worthy astir $14,000, during raids astatine 11 buying malls successful May past year, aboriginal citing the timepieces’ “LGBT elements”.

The tribunal ruling comes aft Switzerland-based Swatch filed a suit arguing that the watches did not beforehand intersexual enactment but “peace and love”.

Malaysian Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution told a quality league that the authorities respected the court’s determination and would hold for the afloat judgement earlier making a determination connected its adjacent move.

Swatch Group Chief Executive Officer Nick Hayek condemned the raids astatine the time, asking sarcastically whether the Malaysian authorities would besides confiscate “the galore beauteous earthy rainbows” that look successful the sky.

Malaysia criminalises same-sex intersexual enactment nether some its civilian codification and Islamic law, which regulates the lives of the Southeast Asian country’s Malay-Muslim majority.

In July 2023, the authorities cancelled the Good Vibes euphony festival successful Kuala Lumpur aft Matty Healy, the pb vocalist of UK stone set The 1975, kissed 1 of his antheral bandmates onstage.

In October 2022, spiritual constabulary raided an LGBTQ-friendly Halloween enactment successful the capital’s Chinatown, arresting 20 Muslim men for cross-dressing.

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Al Jazeera and quality agencies