Rabat – The Rhineland Palatine’s top administrative court suspended a decree against full-body swimsuits issued by the local council in the western German city of Koblenz. The court has issued an injunction suspending the ban, pending further investigation into the case.
The ban was initiated at the beginning of this year after Koblenz local legal council narrowly approved the ban. The ban forbids garments in public pools in the western city of Koblenz. Authorities and officials argued that it was impossible to check whether wearers have open wounds or diseases since the burkini covers the whole body.
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The ruling from the local council was challenged by a Syrian asylum seeker who had been advised by her doctor to swim as part of treatment for a back problem. A pious muslim, the woman challenged the ban in court.
The Rhineland Palatine court ruled that the council’s ban goes against the German constitution’s call for equality and respect
This is not the first time the Burkini has been banned in a European country. Bans on the burkini were imposed by French Riviera mayors in 2016, but were later lifted in seaside resorts after France’s top administrative court overruled the law. Bans on the women’s full-body swimsuits have also been lifted in France’s Villeneuve-Loubet, Cannes, Frejus and Roquebrune.
