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Sikhs move
European Court against French turban ban
WSN Network
WASHINGTON: The
United Sikhs, a Sikh non-profit body, has moved the European Court
of Human Rights in Strasbourg challenging a French law, passed in
March 2004, which bans wearing of conspicuous religious signs,
including the Sikh turban, in public schools in France.
The United Sikhs
lawyers filed a petition, first of its kind against France, on
behalf of Jasvir Singh and Ranjit Singh, who were 14 and 17
respectively at the time when they were expelled from their school
in Bobigny for wearing a Keski following the 2004 French law.
"The small community
of French Sikhs has gallantly fought these cases in the French
courts for the last three years, supported by the global Sikh
community," Director of United Sikhs Director for International
Civil and Human Rights Advocacy, Mejindarpal Kaur said. She spoke
from London.
Hoping that "justice
will be done in the ECHR," Kaur said, "We must salute them for
fighting against all odds, despite being the smallest community to
be affected by the law, and pray that justice will be done in the
highest human rights court in Europe." In the appeal, United Sikhs
lawyers argued that the 2004 law interferes with the applicants
human rights in a way that was disproportionate to the aim of the
protection of the rights and freedoms of others.
The lawyers added,
there was no pressing social need which dictated that members of the
very small Sikh minority in France should not be able to wear a
discreet head-covering.
Meanwhile, United
Sikhs is planning to file an appeal before the UNHRC for another
Sikh student, Bikramjit Singh, who was 18 at the time he was
expelled in 2004.
11
June,
2008
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