Nazi salute not always a crime, rules Swiss court

A Nazi salute is not illegal racial discrimination provided it’s intended as a personal statement, Switzerland’s top court has ruled.

The Federal Tribunal’s ruling, entitled “Hitler salute in public not always punishable,” said the gesture is a crime only if someone is using it to try to spread racist ideology to others, not simply declaring one’s own conviction.

The ruling by the Lausanne-based court overturned a lower court’s conviction last year of a man who was charged with racial discrimination after he took part in an August 2010 demonstration with 150 participants.