Tuesday, July 1, 2014

European Court Upholds France's Full Veil Ban; Woman Argued Ban Violated Her Rel. Freedom

The European Court of Human Rights has upheld a ban by France on wearing the Muslim full-face veil -- the niqab -- the BBC website reports today (July 1, 2014).

A case was brought to the court by a 24-year-old French woman, who argued that the ban on wearing the veil in public violated her freedom of religion and expression.

The French law -- which was passed in 2010 -- says nobody can wear in a public space clothing intended to conceal the face. The penalty for doing so can be a 150-euro ($205) fine.

France has about five million Muslims -- the largest Muslim community in Europe -- but it is believed that only about 2,000 women wear full veils.

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