Newsgroup: it.politica.internazionale
Titolo: Trade-off over burqas ruled

The kiwi's way:
Trade-off over burqas ruled
18.01.05
by Elizabeth Binning
A Muslim woman who has been ordered to remove her burqa while giving 
evidence in court wants to thank people for their understanding.
Fouzya Salim said a ruling released yesterday forced her to show her face 
while giving evidence - but she would be shielded from the public and 
defendant, and that was a fair compromise.
"I want to say thanks to the people of New Zealand for understanding our 
cultural sensitivities and for having respect for our customs.
"Also, special thanks to the judge for making a fair decision that made it 
easy for me and other Muslim women to give evidence in the future."
Mrs Salim said in October that she would rather kill herself than remove her 
burqa in front of Abdul Razamjoo, the man she and another Muslim woman are 
due to give evidence against next month in an insurance fraud case.
The Herald received dozens of letters from people who felt the women, who 
emigrated from Afghanistan 10 years ago, should abide by New Zealand laws 
and remove their burqas in court.
Defence lawyer Colin Amery argued that he needed to be able to see the 
women's faces in order to assess their demeanour.
If their faces were covered, Mr Amery said, he could not tell if the women 
were telling the truth and that could jeopardise his client's right to a 
fair trial.
Judge Lindsay Moore said it would be contrary to the interests of justice to 
require the women to expose their faces to the public or the defendant.
However, he also ruled that "authorising the giving of evidence from beneath 
what is effectively a hood or mask would be such a major departure from 
accepted process and the values of a free and democratic society as to 
seriously risk bringing the court into disrepute".
The women will be able to sit behind a screen and cover their hair with a 
scarf or hat but they must show their faces to the judge, lawyers and female 
court staff.
Mr Amery said the decision was a partial victory.
"We have got women who have to show their faces albeit in a rather unusual 
way in this type of case.
"This is only a minor fraud charge and we are getting the use of screens 
which are used in sexual cases, sometimes in gang cases and I suppose you 
could have it in a security case," Mr Amery said.
The prosecution was not available last night but Senior Constable Martyn 
Renouf, the officer in charge of the case, said the decision was fair.
Paul Morris, a professor of religious studies at Victoria University of 
Wellington, said the ruling was the best compromise.
Part of the women's faith dictated that only men who were close relatives 
could see their uncovered faces.
Professor Morris said he expected to see similar challenges in the future as 
the country became more racially diverse.
K
-- 
Tonibaruch: il primo bagherozzo genocida impotente, kamikaze della
cazzata, e cannibale del proprio DNA.

 Trade-off over burqas ruled
Compromesso: un ottimo modo per gestire la convivenza IMHO.
Palmiro Pangloss
P.S. Attenti che i francesi non vi faccinao saltare per aria un
tribunale...
-- 
Posted via Mailgate.ORG Server - 
http://www.Mailgate.ORG


Infatti, lo hanno fatto in passato...ma non era un tribunale...
K
-- 
"An army that kills so many children is an army with no restraints, an army
that has lost its moral code." - Gideon Levy 

 Infatti, lo hanno fatto in passato...ma non era un tribunale...
Nave, tribunale, non importa: il loro e' un vizio: quando qualcuno li
urta loro piazzano una bella bomba. Son fatti cosi': permalosi.
Palmiro Pangloss
