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French court case to challenge full-face veil ban

Lawyers for woman who was arrested in July for wearing the veil are arguing that the 2011 legal ban is discriminatory and unconstitutional.

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A French court will begin hearing arguments Wednesday in a case that will challenge the legality of the country’s ban on wearing full-face veils, reports FRANCE 24.

A lawyer for Cassandra Belin, who was arrested in July for wearing the veil, will contend that the 2011 law banning the veil is discriminatory and unconstitutional when he appears before the Versailles court just outside Paris.

"She does not want to be wrongly perceived as the symbol of a supposed rampant Islamisation," lawyer Philippe Bataille said of his client, who will not be present at Wednesday’s hearing.

Belin, 20, who converted to Islam five years ago, was stopped by police in the town of Trappes west of Paris on July 18, during the Ramadan fasting month, for wearing the veil.

An altercation ensued and her husband, Michael Khiri, was accused of insulting a police officer and arrested. He was later found guilty and received a three-month suspended sentence.

Read more of this report from FRANCE 24.