A Malaysian court has ordered that the government must return watches it seized from Swatch.
The government raided the Swiss manufacturers stores in May 2023 seizing rainbow coloured watches and arguing that they promoted homosexuality. Homosexuality is illegal in the Asian country, the laws on its book stretch back to times of British colonialism.
The High Court has ordered that 172 watches that were seized should be returned because the government authorities failed to get a search warrant before taking action.
The watches were taken from 11 different shopping malls across the country and have a value of USD$14,000.
Malaysian Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution told a news conference that while he respected the court’s decision, he would wait to read the full judgement before deciding what the government’s next move would be.
In recent years there have been an increased number of reports of the government taking stronger action against the local LGBTIQ+ communities and public displays of allyship.
