Thursday, May 22, 2014

In Switzerland, the nazi salute is not always punishable...

A Nazi salute isn't illegal racial discrimination provided it's intended as a personal statement, Switzerland's top court ruled Wednesday.

The Federal Tribunal's ruling, titled "Hitler salute in public not always punishable," said the gesture is a crime only if someone is using it to try to spread racist ideology to others, not simply declaring one's own conviction.

The ruling by the Lausanne-based court overturned a lower court's conviction last year of a man who was charged with racial discrimination after he took part in an August 2010 demonstration with 150 participants.

The demonstration was held a week after the Swiss National Day on the famous Ruetli Meadow above Lake Lucerne where, according to legend, the modern Swiss Confederation was born in 1291.

The court said the man substituted the Swiss oath with a 20-second Nazi salute. But it said the gesture is only punishable if it's being used to spread, advertise or propagate racist ideology with the intention of influencing others. Full story...

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