Court hands out first burqa fines

TWO Muslim women have become the first in France to be fined by a court for wearing a niqab full-face veil since the wearing of veils in public places was banned in April.

Hind Ahmas, 32, was fined €120 and Najate Nait Ali, 36, €80 by the judge in Meaux. They were arrested after being stopped near the mairie in Meaux last May.

It is thought that around 90 women have been stopped and given a warning for wearing the full veil in public.

The mayor of Meaux is Jean-François Copé, the president of Nicolas Sarkozy’s ruling UMP group in the National Assembly, and the main who pushed for the ban.

He was the subject of an extra protest at the court when the two women turned up with a birthday cake for him – their original arrest had been on his birthday.

Reports said the women planned to appeal and, if they did not succeed in France, take the case to the European Court of Human Rights.

If the law is successfully challenged it could have repercussions for Muslims in other countries which have introduced bans or are planning to do so, including Belgium, Italy and Denmark.

Photo:Kevin Browne fotolia.com