Faizel Patel, 2016-08-26
Pending a definitive ruling, France’s highest administrative court has suspended a ban on full body “burkini” swimsuits that has outraged Muslims and opened divisions within the government.
The ruling follows a request from the League of Human Rights to overturn the burkini ban in the Mediterranean town of Villeneuve-Loubet on the grounds it contravenes civil liberties.
In a statement, the court says that the decree to ban burkinis in Villeneuve-Loubet “seriously, and clearly illegally, breached the fundamental freedoms to come and go, the freedom of beliefs and individual freedom”.
The ruling is likely to set a precedent for about 30 French towns which have banned the burkini, mostly along the southeast coast.
Amnesty International welcomed the ruling.
Amnesty’s Europe director John Dalhuisen says by overturning a discriminatory ban that is fuelled by and is fuelling prejudice and intolerance, the decision has drawn an important line in the sand.”
“French authorities must now drop the pretence that these measures do anything to protect the rights of women.”
The French Council of the Muslim Faith hailed the ruling as a “victory for common sense”.
– Agencies
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