November 6, 2024 4:15 PM

Swiss ‘burqa ban’ to take effect from 2025

A contentious Swiss prohibition on facial coverings in public spaces widely known as the "burqa ban" will take effect on Jan. 1, the government said on Wednesday. Narrowly passed in a 2021 referendum in neutral Switzerland, and condemned by Muslim associations, the measure was launched by the same group that organised a 2009 ban on new minarets. The governing Federal Council said in a statement it had fixed the start of the ban, and that anyone who unlawfully flouts it faces a fine of up to 1,...