CBC News – October 13, 2010
Fairness of a trial must be taken into account: ruling
The Ontario Court of Appeal has ruled that the victim of an alleged sexual assault may not have to remove her niqab while testifying as long as the fairness of a trial is not compromised. In the 3-0 ruling Wednesday, the court upheld an earlier decision by the Superior Court. A lower court had ordered the 32-year-old Muslim woman, identified only as N.S., to remove the traditional veil, which covers most of her face.
The case began in 2007 when the woman told police that her cousin and uncle repeatedly sexually abused her while she was between six and 10 years old. During the preliminary inquiry, which is held to see if there is enough evidence to go to trial, the judge ordered N.S. to remove her veil to testify. That decision was appealed to the Superior Court, which quashed it. “The preliminary inquiry judge did not conduct a proper inquiry into N.S.’s religious freedom claim. His order directing her to remove her niqab while testifying constituted an error in law on the face of the record. That order should be quashed,” wrote Justice David Doherty for the majority Wednesday.
However, Muslim witnesses wearing a face-covering niqab must remove it to testify if in rare cases the covering would truly jeopardize a fair trial, the court said.
Loading ...