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Fashion firm under investigation for swastika design

Updated: 19/Oct/2006 19:21

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BERLIN (EJP)--- Fashion firm Esprit is under investigation in Germany after accusations that British-made buttons appearing in their new collection have swastika designs.

The firm has agreed to pulp over 200,000 autumn collection catalogues after complaints that the leather folding on certain cardigan buttons resembles the Nazi insignia.

And Esprit bosses continue to face large fines or even prison sentences if German prosecutors investigating the charges decide that the buttons were intentionally designed.

Esprit board chairman Heinz Kroger said: "It has come as a great shock to us and is very annoying."

He added that the buttons in question had been used for many years by various fashion concerns, including rivals of Esprit. And the autumn catalogue was produced in London and approved by affiliates in several different countries "who unfortunately did not notice the resemblance".

"We have known about these traditional English buttons for years," said Kroger. "That's why nobody ever dreamt that they could be associated with such a thing."

Dusseldorf chief prosecutor Johannes Mocken has confirmed that authorities are looking into the case and said: "We are considering raising charges on the grounds of the use of insignia of prohibited organisations."

He said that what would determine the outcome of the investigation was whether the markings resembled swastikas deliberately or by accident.

However, he added that, so far, he had been given no reason to believe that Esprit management had Nazi beliefs. He said: "Until now, we have seen no evidence that the company has a political bias in that direction."

An early statement released by Esprit in response to the charge says: "We regret it if anyone perceives a remote relationship between the design of these buttons and an illegal act."

If charges are raised and the courts rule against the US-founded clothing brand, Esprit is likely to be fined and forced to withdraw the collection, and those responsible could face up to three years in jail.

The prosecutors said that they had become aware of the jackets after a member of the public had spotted the buttons and had a lawyer send the authorities a copy of the new Esprit catalogue.

Last month, a court in Stuttgart fined a 32-year-old man more than 7,000 euros (8,700 dollars) for selling anti-Nazi badges that showed a swastika with a line through it. In Germany, all depictions of the Nazi cross are forbidden.