Davos restaurateur fined for discrimination after sledge incident

The operator of a mountain restaurant in Davos has been given a conditional fine for racial discrimination after refusing to hire sledges to Jewish guests, in a case that sparked headlines earlier this year. The restaurateur was found guilty of discrimination by refusing service on the basis of race, ethnicity or religion, canton Graubünden public prosecutor Franco Passini said on Wednesday in response to a report in the Südostschweiz newspaper. He was sentenced by the Graubünden public prosecutor’s office by way of a penalty order. Passini did not disclose the amounts of the penalties, which include both a conditional and a concrete fine. The judgement is legally binding. The tenant of the restaurant in the small Davos ski resort of Pischa had refused to rent out sledges and other sports equipment to Jewish tourists in winter, a decision he had made known by sticking up a notice in Hebrew at the hire counter. The letter stated that various “annoying incidents” had led to the ...