Niqab women fined by French court

A judge in Mux has fined two French women for wring the niqab – the first sanction since France banned Islamic full-face veils in April.Hind Ahmas is one of two women to be fined by a French court for wring niqab in public in the first legal punishment to be handed out since the ban. Photograph: Magali Delporte for the GuardianHind Ahmas, a 32-yr-old single mother from a Paris suburb, and another 36-yr-old woman who did not want to be named, were handed fines of €120 and €80 (£105 and £70) respectively. The judge is expected to hand out a full ruling on Thursday explaining his decision.
The fines mark the first time a French court has pronounced on the niqab ban, the controversial law backed by Nicolas Sarkozy that bans women wring full-face veils from all public places, including walking down the street, taking a bus, going to court or collecting children from school. More than 90 women have been stopped by police but until now, no one had been punished by a court for wring a face-veil.
The two women were stopped in the street on 5 May nr the town hall in Mux, st of Paris, where the mayor is Jn-François Copé – an architect of the ban and hd of Sarkozy's ruling rightwing UMP party.
The date was Copé's birthday and the women had arrived at the town hall wring full-face coverings and carrying a birthday cake for him made of almonds. Their action was intended as a play on the word "almond" in French – amande, which is close to the word "fine" – amende. The women said they wanted to expose the absurdity of a law that discriminated against Muslims and made a mockery of the justice system.
They were supported by the group Don't Touch my Constitution, which has led protests at the ban.
Gilles Devers, a lawyer for the women, said the pair would immediately appl to France's supreme court and to the Europn court of human rights if necessary. Devers argued the French niqab ban contravened Europn human rights legislation on personal liberties and freedom of religion.
Ahmas was not allowed into court during the initial court hring in June because she was wring a niqab and refused to remove it at the request of a police r, offering instd to lift it for an identity check.
Source: The Guardian