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Austrian court upholds fines for burkini ban in hotel pool
🇩🇪 Germany /Crime & Justice

Austrian court upholds fines for burkini ban in hotel pool

From Die Zeit · () German

Translated from German, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Outcome reported
  • An Austrian court upheld fines against two hotel managers for banning women from wearing burkinis in a hotel pool.
  • The court ruled the ban constituted religious discrimination, rejecting the hotel's hygiene claims.
  • The decision clarifies how such cases should be handled, though further appeals are possible.

A court in Salzburg, Austria, has upheld fines against two hotel managers who banned Muslim women from using the hotel pool while wearing burkinis. The regional administrative court ruled the ban was discriminatory based on religion, rejecting the hotel's stated hygiene reasons as unsubstantiated.

It is deeply humiliating when people are forced to undress, even though it does not harm anyone.

— A woman affected by the banShe explained that people cover their bodies for health, cultural, religious, or personal reasons.

The managers had told the two Austrian women that full-body swimsuits were not permitted, adding that "one might swim in Saudi Arabia with a burkini, but not in Austria." The women subsequently reported the incident to the authorities, leading to initial fines of 100 euros each.

one might swim in Saudi Arabia with a burkini, but not in Austria.

— Hotel managerThis was stated to the two Muslim women when they were denied access to the hotel pool.

The court's decision confirmed these penalties, stating the women were disadvantaged due to their religion. One of the affected women emphasized that forcing people to undress when no harm is caused is deeply humiliating. The Austrian Hotel Association noted that burkinis had not previously posed a problem and that the ruling, while specific to this case, provides clarity on handling such situations.

The ruling is a single-case decision, but it creates clarity on how to deal with it.

— Austrian Hotel Association spokespersonHe commented on the court's decision regarding burkinis in hotel pools.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Die Zeit in German. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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