The case of a man who was fired from his job for refusing to cover or remove a swastika tattoo has gone to Mexico’s Supreme Court.
The man claims to have been the victim of discrimination for exercising his right to freedom of expression and seeks compensation for “moral damages” from his former employers who, along with many of his former coworkers, are Jewish.
Presiding Judge Norma Lucía Piña Hernández is expected to absolve the company of wrongdoing when she presents her ruling on Wednesday.
While recognizing the plaintiff’s right to freedom of expression, Piña stated that the Nazi symbol is a form of hate speech and in this case is not protected by the law.
She said that in the context of a workplace employing people who are mostly of Jewish origin or the Jewish religion, it creates a climate of discrimination.
“The court recognizes that bearing a tattoo is permitted and one must not be discriminated for it, but in this case the symbol that the plaintiff bore represents an apologia of hate or anti-Semitic hate speech . . .” the judge said in a statement.
The statement goes on to declare that the company’s decision to fire the employee was “valid, reasonable and proportional,” and that it did not constitute an act of discrimination.
