Austrian court rules ski resort hotel’s burkini ban is discriminatory

Hotel did not allow two Muslim women to wear full-body bathing suit, which has become bugbear of European far right

An Austrian court has found an alpine hotel’s ban on burkinis discriminatory, a politically explosive ruling in a country where the far right is on the rise.

The full-body bathing suit worn by some Muslim women has become a bugbear of the European far right, which has campaigned to restrict Muslim dress in public spaces.

In a ruling made public this week, the Salzburg court found that the hotel in the western ski resort of Saint Johann im Pongau had discriminated against two Austrian Muslim women by preventing them from wearing the garment.

After a heated argument with the manager, who said the burkini was unhygienic and made other guests feel uncomfortable, the women filed a complaint last year.

The local authorities then fined the hotel €100 (£85) in February, prompting the establishment’s manager to appeal.

But in late June the court rejected the appeal and ordered the hotel to pay a €20 fee on top of the fine to cover procedural costs.

It found that the hotel manager’s argument that the garment was unhygienic “does not hold water, as burkinis are made from the same materials as other swimwear and routine water checks found no irregularities”.

However, the presiding judge told Agence France-Presse that the ruling would not set a nationwide precedent “as indirect discrimination is permissible under certain conditions”.

Austria does not explicitly restrict Muslim dress for women and girls above the age of 14. But the law forbids face coverings in public spaces, in effect preventing Muslim women from wearing the burqa and niqab.

As the burkini covers the whole body apart from the face, hands and feet, the swimsuit does not break the rules.

The burkini has become a political hot potato in several European countries, notably France. Attempts by local mayors in the south of France to ban the burkini on Mediterranean beaches in 2016 were eventually overturned by the courts. Several other European countries, including the Netherlands and Denmark, have banned the face-covering burqa and niqab.