Swatch to challenge seizure of rainbow watches in Malaysia

Swatch will be able to challenge the seizure of around 100 rainbow-coloured watches by authorities in Malaysia, where homosexuality is illegal, after a high court gave the go-ahead, a lawyer for the Swiss company said.

In May, Swatch stores in 11 shopping malls were raided and watches confiscated because of “LGBTQ elements” by a police unit of the Ministry of Home Affairs in the Southeast Asian country where homosexuality is illegal.

The hearing is scheduled for September 6, the lawyer added.

The LGBTQ community is discriminated against in the Muslim-majority country, where homosexuality is punishable by prosecution and corporal punishment.

The government announced in early August, ahead of a key electoral deadline, that wearers or sellers of the Swiss manufacturer’s rainbow watches were now liable to three years’ imprisonment in Malaysia.

In May, 172 watches worth a total of $14,000 (CHF12,100) were seized.

Swatch had lodged a legal appeal, arguing that “its commercial reputation had been damaged”. “The watches do not promote any sexual activity, but only express peace and love in a joyful way,” the complaint stated.

The authorities had justified the watch seizures by pointing out that they risked “damaging the nation’s interests by promoting, supporting and normalising the LGBTQ movement which is not accepted by the general public”.