Malaysia warns owners of LGBTQ-themed Swatch watches could face jail time

Source: CBS News

Malaysia warns owners of LGBTQ-themed Swatch watches could face jail time

BY EMMET LYONS
AUGUST 10, 2023 / 12:07 PM / CBS NEWS

Malaysia's government said Thursday that anyone buying or selling LGBTQ-themed Swatch watches could face prison terms of up to three years, as authorities pledged to stop the sale of Swatch products with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer elements that "may harm the morality" of the country.

Rainbow-colored watches made by the Swiss watchmaker have been prohibited in the Muslim-majority country for "promoting, supporting, and normalizing the LGBTQ+ movement that is not accepted by the general public in Malaysia," according to a post on the Malaysian Interior Ministry's official Facebook page.

Homosexuality is illegal in the southeast Asian nation and homosexual acts are punishable by "up to 20 years in prison and/or whipping" there, according to the U.S. State Department.

Members of the LGBTQ community in Malaysia regularly face severe discrimination, including criminal penalties, conversion practices that seek to change people's sexual orientation or gender identity, and anti-LGBTQ rhetoric from government officials.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/malaysia-lgbtq-swatch-watches-ban-matty-healy/