SWI swissinfo.ch: No gun licence for Swiss Islamic leader

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No gun licence for Swiss Islamic leader

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This content was published on May 8, 2018 2:13 PMMay 8, 2018 - 14:13
bearded man

Nicolas Blancho led a controversial Islamic Central Council conference in Zurich in 2017.
(Keystone)

Nicolas Blancho, president of the Islamic Central Council of Switzerlandexternal link, will not receive a firearms licence following a Federal Court decision.

In a ruling published on Tuesday, Switzerland's highest court confirmed that Bern’s Administrative Court was correct to decline Blancho’s 2014 request for a licence to buy a SIG Sauer P226 pistol. The Lausanne-based Federal Supreme Court ruled that Blancho had not sufficiently explained how the refusal of a firearms licence had violated his rights.

In 2017, the Administrative Court ruled that Blancho could not sufficiently ensure a careful, responsible and lawful handling of such a weapon. The court stated that Blancho was too radical, and that he had failed to respect human rights and Swiss law.

Blancho, who wanted the pistol for sport as well as self-defence, said in a statement that he found the ruling humiliatingexternal link.

“As a Swiss citizen, I am not allowed to possess a weapon due to my Islamic convictions; this contradicts the principle of equality. It shows that being a Muslim makes me a special citizen who, a priori, is a physical danger. That offends me. It’s not fair,” wrote Blancho.
Danger to others

According to the Bern-based administrative court, there were concrete indications that Blancho could pose a danger to others if he had a weapon. There was also no guarantee that Blancho would not pass a purchased weapon on to another person. Blancho had appealed to the higher court to overturn the lower one’s decision.

On May 16 and 17, Blancho and two other men will stand trial before the Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona. They are accused of violating Swiss law prohibiting groups related to al-Qaeda and Islamic State.
The Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona
Alleged support for terrorism
Swiss indict three for alleged al-Qaeda propaganda films
By swissinfo.ch and agencies

The Swiss Attorney General has filed an indictment against three members of the Islamic Central Council of Switzerland.
3 There are 3 comments on this article.

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There are 4 comments on this article.
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"mejrc commented on the content at 08 May 2018 19:31".
mejrc 08-May-2018 19:31
Absolutely right to refuse a gun licence. If our highest court says no that`s it. End of story. I don`t think I would trust some people with a potato peeler ???!!! A SIG Sauer P226 pistol tooooooooooo risky. From Uncle John.
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"mejrc commented on the content at 08 May 2018 19:49".
mejrc 08-May-2018 19:49
I have some added information on the SIG Sauer P226 pistol. Firstly it`s a 9mm with a 15 round magazine & is the prefered weapon of the US NAVY SEALS. Believe me the Navy Seals Special Forces do not use crappy weapons. If a pistol like this were to be in the wrong hands, try & imagine the potential mess. Better to be safe than sorry. ----- From Uncle John.
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 "Foxx Delaney replied to the comment of mejrc at 09 May 2018 07:41."
Foxx Delaney 09-May-2018 07:41
The decision was the absolutely correct one to make,I own a Sig Sauer P226 and in the wrong hands it could like many other pistols be a deadly force,more decisions like this could help to stop terror and the illegal arms trade🦊
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"JAG commented on the content at 09 May 2018 17:25".
JAG 09-May-2018 17:25
No rational explanation as to why he needs it. The Court is correct in its ruling.
If he has shown sympathy to the cause of radical religious belief than it stands to reason that he should not posses such a weapon even for "sport". That just NRA logic which should NEVER work in this country EVER !!
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