Burqa and niqab banned in Swiss Ticino

Fines varying between 100 and 10,000 francs will be imposed to those who will not respect the ban.

The bill makes no exceptions for tourists, and Ticino is planning to display warning signs at airports and border crossings to inform visitors of the ban.

The ban was supported by two-thirds of the region’s voters in a September 2013 referendum.

Switzerland’s Ticino state has put a ban on wearing veil or burqa or nikab in public places like shops, restaurants or public buildings, media reported.

In 2009, Swiss voters backed a ban on constructing new minarets and the ruling Swiss People’s Party has made immigration a key focus of their Government. However, tourists are not exempt from the law.

MPs on Monday voted in favour of attaching a fine to the offence of wearing a burka or niqab in public.

Giorgio Ghiringhelli, who drew up the proposal, said the result will send a message to “Islamist fundamentalists” in the country.

“Those who want to integrate are welcome irrespective of their religion”, he was quoted by the paper as saying.

Amnesty worldwide said the vote was a “black day for human rights in Ticino”.

The ban was also supposed to be applied to people who cover their faces with, for example, masks and balaclavas during protests.

The law is similar to France’s burqa ban, which passed in 2010.

A woman wearing a niqab, a garment also banned under new rules in Ticino.

Muslims account for about 5 percent of the population in Switzerland, according to the Swiss Federal Statistical Office.

The French law was upheld in the European Court of Human Rights past year after a Muslim woman claimed it was a breach of her religious freedom.