Swiss government wants to ban swastika in crackdown on extremist symbols
Federal Council wants to ban Nazi symbols in public
Keystone-SDA
Select your language
Generated with artificial intelligence.
Listening: Swiss government wants to ban swastika in crackdown on extremist symbols
The Federal Council wants to ban the Nazis’ swastika emblem in public as well as other symbols associated with the Third Reich. Anyone who flouted the law would be fined CHF200 ($225) in future.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Keystone-SDA
Deutsch
de
Bundesrat will Nazisymbole in der Öffentlichkeit verbieten
Original
A ban on Nazi symbols is particularly urgent, the Federal Council said on Friday. Anti-Semitic incidents had increased significantly in recent months. The government has submitted a draft for a special law for consultation that ends on March 31.
Switzerland has a certain tolerance when it comes to Nazi symbols and gestures. Nazi salutes and swastikas are banned only when used for propaganda purposes. Political efforts to scrap this distinction have been ongoing since 2003.
More
More
Swiss House of Representatives urges ban on extremist and racist symbols
This content was published on
The Swiss parliament wants to ban extremist symbols. The ban primarily targets Nazi symbols, but it extends beyond that.
The Federal Council now says it wants to ban swastikas, Hitler salutes and SS insignia, and codes such as “18” and “88” as well as certain gestures, objects and greetings. When such symbols are punishable depends on the context. The Federal Council is planning exemptions for educational, artistic and journalistic purposes.
Translated from German by DeepL/sb
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, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
Most Read Swiss Abroad
More
In Switzerland, New Year brings ‘burka ban’ and pension hikes
Have you heard something about Swiss diplomacy that you’d like us to fact check?
Not all information circulating about Switzerland’s foreign relations is accurate or well understood. Tell us what you'd like us to fact check or clarify.
European committee raises alarm over police violence in western Switzerland
This content was published on
A Council of Europe committee is concerned about police practices in western Switzerland, citing “allegations of physical mistreatment” against detainees.
WEF: Trump to speak virtually, Zelensky to appear in person
This content was published on
US President-elect Donald Trump will attend this year's annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos via video conference. He is scheduled to speak on January 23.
Coop washes its hands of The Body Shop in Switzerland
This content was published on
The Body Shop is facing closure in Switzerland. Retailer Coop is no longer extending the franchise agreement for its cosmetics subsidiary.
Three out of ten Ukrainian refugees in Switzerland have a job
This content was published on
More and more refugees from Ukraine have a job in Switzerland. The employment rate of people with protection status S was just under 30% at the end of 2024.
Swiss private companies invest CHF18 billion in research
This content was published on
In 2023, private companies in Switzerland spent CHF18 billion ($19.7 billion) on their own research and development. This is CHF1.2 billion more than in 2021.
This content was published on
Lindt & Sprüngli grew strongly in 2024. The Swiss chocolate manufacturer is also aiming for above-average growth in the current financial year.
‘Surprisingly few’ signatures invalid for ban on animal testing
This content was published on
The initiative to ban animal testing was submitted in November with around 127,600 signatures. "Surprisingly few" signatures are not valid, the initiative's organisers have now said.
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.