Belgium: Judge overturns burkini ban in swimming pool

Ghent: According to the Mediahuis publications the Court in Ghent overturned the prohibition of the burkini on Friday in two judgments. Giving judgment on the cases related to burkini ban in two swimming pools in the north of the country, the court said that the swimming pools cannot prohibit women from swimming in a burkini.

One of the swimming pools is located at Ter Wallen in Merelbeke and the other in Van Eyck in Ghent.

Two Muslim women who filed the case are now entitled to receive compensation in the form of moral damages on religious grounds.

Citing hygienic reasons and safety concerns, the swimming pool Ter Wallen in Merelbeke had put a public board stating: “Burkinis are not allowed for hygienic or ecological reasons.” However the judge overturned the ban saying it would be a sort of discrimination, and the arguments concerning hygiene and safety do not apply here.