A controversial prohibition on the wearing of Islamic face coverings in Switzerland will be enforced starting January 1, the government’s Federal Council said in a Wednesday statement.
The new rules will require pedestrians in most public areas to refrain from covering their faces, except for health reasons or in cases of inclement weather. Those who violate the law will be subject to fines of up to 1,000 Swiss francs.
The measure was approved by 51 percent of voters in a 2021 ballot referendum put forward by the nationalist Schweizerische Volkspartei (SVP), despite strong opposition from the country’s Muslim organizations.
Once the policy is implemented, Switzerland will join several other European states that have enacted similar regulations, including Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, and the Netherlands.
The SVP had previously been successful in a 2009 effort to ban the construction of mosques with minarets in the Alpine nation.
