San Francisco, CA – A federal appeals court says Southern California jailers violated the religious freedom of a Muslim woman who was ordered to take off her headscarf in a courthouse holding cell.
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An 11-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously reinstated a civil rights lawsuit Tuesday filed by Souhair Khatib in 2007 against Orange County.
Khatib was jailed for several hours in November 2006 after a judge revoked her probation from a misdemeanor welfare fraud conviction. Probation was reinstated the same day and Khatib was released from jail.
A trial court judge and a three-judge appeals court panel previously dismissed the lawsuit, saying that holding cells aren’t covered by a federal law protecting inmates’ religious practices.
But the 11 judges rejected that argument and ordered Khatib’s lawsuit to proceed.
This showed real insensitivity and should not be allowed to happen. A muslim woman is entitled to exactly the same rights as a frum woman. Can you imagine the horror if c’v a woman was asked to remove her sheitel while in a holding cell? Obviously, it would be better to stay out of jail, but muslims are entitled to the same rights we would want for a yid.
reply to #4 :
i agree with you 100%. Could not have said any better.
How about we forget ALL religions for 1 second and look at it from a security issue! If it were ANY woman, even a lady of the evening, and she were wearing a wig…if an officer feels the need to check for sharp objects brought into a holding cell, they are within their rights to do so for everyone concerned.