French court rejects challenge to burqa ban
Afghan women in burqa. Image from Shutterstock.
A French court in Versailles has rejected a constitutional challenge to the country’s 2011 burqa ban, fining a woman about $200 for wearing the face-covering clothing.
The court ruled against Muslim convert Cassandra Belin, 20, on Wednesday, report United Press International and Voice of America. The Religion Clause blog notes the ruling.
The court said the country’s Constitutional Council had already said that the law conforms to the Constitution, according to the UPI account. Another challenge to the law is pending before the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
Belin’s lawyer, Philippe Bataille, told Voice of America he will confer with his client about the possibility of appeal. He said it’s a shame Belin did not appear at trial to explain why she wore the face veil. The burqa ban makes her afraid to go out in public, Bataille told Voice of America.
