At the time, an official explained that the watches had been seized because they bore the acronym “LGBT” and represented the six colours synonymous worldwide with the rainbow flag of LGBT pride movement.
The government of Malaysia, where homosexuality is outlawed and LGBT people face widespread discrimination, subsequently banned the rainbow-themed Swatch watches, warning that owners or sellers could face up to three years in prison.
The authorities had claimed that the watches “could harm… the nation’s interests by promoting, supporting and normalising the LGBTQ movement which is not accepted by the general public”.
In its complaint challenging the seizure, Swatch explained that its products “do not promote any sexual activity, but simply a fun and joyful expression of peace and love”.
The Kuala Lumpur High Court ruled on Monday that the Ministry of Home Affairs must return the watches to Swatch within 14 days, government lawyer Sallehuddin Ali told press agency AFP.
“The judge also said that the prohibition order on the watches was not issued and published until August 2023, and that was after the seizure (of the watches) took place in May. So at the time of the seizure, the applicant (Swatch) had not committed any offence,” he added.
Interior Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said his ministry would honour the court order, adding that his legal team would have to “examine the basis of the judgement” before any appeal against the decision.
Adapted from French by DeepL/ac
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 it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, if you want to learn more about how we use technology, click here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
More
First traces of water on Mars dated back to 4.45 billion years ago
This content was published on
While analysing a Martian meteorite, scientists discovered traces of water dating back 4.45 billion years.
Uri voters clear path for hotel and marina complex in central Switzerland
This content was published on
Voters in canton Uri in central Switzerland have rejected a Green Party initiative aimed at regulating the development of the lakeside site in Isleten.
