“Z” at the ESAF: Basel Russian Association goes to court and wants to keep educating children

At the ESAF in Pratteln, several exponents of the Basel association wore the Z symbol on their traditional costumes – this symbol represents the Russian war in Ukraine and can also be found, for example, on Russian tanks.

Until the end of September, the association taught dozens of Russian-speaking children in public schools in the cantons of Basel-Stadt and Basel-Landschaft. Then it was over: Basel’s education department had revoked the association’s license due to its appearance at the ESAF.

The members of the association do not want to be fobbed off with this. As the “Sonntagsblick” writes, they are now going to court to take action against the teaching ban. The Court of Appeal must decide whether the ban was justified or not. The spokesman for the Basel Education Department, Simon Thiriet, confirmed the association’s actions to the newspaper: “The association has challenged the decision, the appeal is currently pending.”

After the ESAF scandal, the members stated that their association was politically neutral and that there was a misunderstanding when they appeared at the ESAF – but this is not very credible. According to the Sunday newspaper, the women even have connections with the Russian government. Two years ago, the president of the association was even presented with a medal of honor by the Russian Ministry of Defense in Moscow. (against)