Nude hiker now feels it in the pocket

A court in Appenzell Outer-Rhodes has deemed that a man caught hiking in the nude more than a year ago was indeed indecent.
On Thursday he was found guilty of gross violation of morality and decency. He now faces a SFr100 ($103) fine plus procedural costs amounting to SFr3,300.

The story began in October 2009, when a woman reported the sight of a naked man wandering near a picnic area and a rehabilitation centre for drug addicts. The authorities fined him SFr100, but the 46-year-old naturist refused to pay.

The matter first came to court in May 2010; the man admitted that he had been hiking in the nude for two years, but insisted that he had not been behaving indecently. He was acquitted, so the prosecution decided to take the case to a higher court – which concluded that it was the duty of the local authorities to uphold public morality.

Following a wave of naturist hikers in recent years, canton Appenzell Inner-Rhodes was the first canton to ban naked rambling. The official fine for the practice is SFr200. Two cases are currently pending there.