[DAWN] As a Swiss law banning burqas came into effect in Switzerland...home of the Helvetians, famous for cheese, watches, yodeling, and William Tell...
's Ticino region on Friday, enforcing a fine of over $11,000 for those who violate the law, a Moslem convert and a businessman protesting the ban were fined, The Independent reported.
The controversial law, which was voted in by a referendum, outlaws face-covering headgear.
Nora Illi and Rachid Nekkaz, prominent Moslem-rights campaigners, walked in the streets of Locarno in burqas after the rule was introduced.
Police stopped Nekkaz, a French-Algerian national, and Illi, a convert from Zurich, and fined them over $230 and $9,900 respectively.
Local government officials, while Nekkaz and Illi protested, collected signatures calling for a nationwide ban on the burqa.
The law, which originated as a people's initiative, received 65 per cent of the vote in Ticino in 2013, where the majority of the population are Roman Catholic. The law was approved by the local government in November after a parliament ruling stated that it did not contradict Swiss federal law.
Georgio Ghiringhelli, who proposed the law, said the ruling would send a message to "Islamic fundamentalists" in the country.