Trial Set for Case of Chicago Police Tearing Off Girl's Hijab

April 23, 2006

Source: Daily Times

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2006%5c04%5c23%5cstory_23-4-2006_pg7_15

On April 23, 2006 the Daily Times reported, "The trial of Rehana Khan, a Muslim girl of Pakistani-descent from Illinois who had her headscarf or hijab ripped off after she and several others were arrested for civil disobedience while protesting at a rally for immigrant rights last year, has finally been scheduled for April 25. A group of five young people - [who are] white, Latino, [and] Muslim - are facing up to four years in jail for a protest against the racist vigilante group the Minutemen. Two Illinois state attorneys have reportedly refused to discuss a plea without jail time. Their case goes to trial on April 25, according to the New Jersey-based website DesPardes, quoting the Council for American Islamic Relations (CAIR). Rehana, while being led to a police squad car, reportedly informed an officer that the way in which she was being handled was causing extreme pain - actions from which she obtained bruises and scars - and requested that the officer ease her grip. The officer responded by stating, 'No, that’s what you get,' and then remarked, 'Take that off' and violently pulled off her hijab."