GENEVA, Jan 22 — A group of Swiss nationals has filed a lawsuit against former US state department official Stuart Eizenstat (right) over the cover of his book detailing Switzerland’s wartime relationship with the Nazi regime.

The cover of “Imperfect Justice”, on sale in the US though not yet in Europe, depicts a swastika of golden ingots superimposed on the Swiss flag. The action is being taken under a Swiss federal law against defacing public insignia — including the national flag — punishable by a 5,000-franc (3,400-euro) fine and up to two months’ imprisonment.

“The legal complaint is not against the content of the book, which is a matter of freedom of expression, but purely against the cover,” said Geneva lawyer Michel Amaudruz, who began proceedings on behalf of more than 70 citizens.

The Swiss government last December expressed indignation over the book, which recounts the history of Nazi looting of Jewish assets before and during the Second World War.

Author Eizenstat, a former undersecretary for both the US state department and treasury, helped negotiate the 1.25-billion-dollar (1.2-billion-euro) settlement between Swiss banks and the families of Holocaust victims.

Bern’s embassy in Washington at one point considered legal action against the book, which concludes that the Swiss National Bank — the country’s central bank — was the main buyer of gold from Adolf Hitler’s regime.

The Nazis routinely stole gold, silver, cash, precious stones and artworks from Jews rounded up in Germany and countries it occupied, before sending them to their deaths in concentration camps.

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