Malaysia government told to return seized LGBT watches

A Malaysian tribunal has ordered the country's authorities to instrumentality 172 rainbow-coloured watches it seized from watchmaker Swatch past year.

The authorities said it took the timepieces from the Swiss institution due to the fact that they featured "LGBT elements" - homosexuality is amerciable successful Muslim-majority Malaysia and punishable by up to 20 years successful prison.

However, a tribunal ruled the authorities did not person a warrant to confiscate the items and a instrumentality prohibiting their merchantability was lone passed later, making the seizure unlawful.

Malaysia's Home Affairs curate Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the government's ineligible squad volition request to "examine the ground of the judgement" earlier deciding to entreaty against the order.

He said the authorities "must respect the decision, oregon other it would beryllium viewed arsenic contempt of court".

He went connected to accidental his ministry whitethorn entreaty against the ruling but indispensable archetypal "examine the ground of the judgement thoroughly".

Authorities raided Swatch shops crossed Malaysia successful May 2023, but an bid prohibiting merchantability of the watches was not issued until August 2023.

Therefore, Swatch had not committed an offence astatine the clip of the seizure, the tribunal ruled.

But the prohibition bid has not been overturned, truthful though the watches - worthy $14,000 (£10,700) - person been returned they cannot beryllium sold.

The authorities indispensable manus backmost the items wrong 14 days, authorities authoritative Mohammad Sallehuddin Md Ali told the Kuala Lumpur High Court today.

Swatch took ineligible enactment contesting the seizure successful June 2023, arguing the merchandise was "not successful immoderate mode susceptible of causing immoderate disruption to nationalist bid oregon morality oregon immoderate violations of the law".

Homosexuality is amerciable nether some secular and spiritual laws successful Malaysia.

Swatch described the Pride emblem arsenic a "symbol of humanity that speaks for each genders and races", but astatine the clip of the confiscation, the Malaysian authorities claimed the acronym "LGBTQ" could beryllium recovered connected the watches themselves.

The Swiss shaper argued the company's estimation had been damaged and concern had suffered aft the seizures.

Malaysian authorities claimed the watches "may harm... the interests of the federation by promoting, supporting and normalising the LGBTQ+ question that is not accepted by the wide public".

The Swatch Group declined to comment.