Blow to Sikhs: European Court Upholds French Turban Ban

July 18, 2009

Author: Staff Writer

Source: Times of India

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4791396.cms

In a major blow to Sikhs in Europe, European Court of Human Rights has upheld French ban on turban by dismissing the first petition filed against it. France had passed a law in 2004, prohibiting religious symbols in schools.

The judgment, which came close on the heels of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh raising the issue with French president Nicolas Sarkozy, was communicated to the lawyers of NGO United Sikhs, who had filed the petition on behalf of Jasvir Singh, on Thursday. It does not require France to respond to Jasvir's legal arguments.