Sikhs drag France to Euro court

Sikhs in France have filed a case before the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg challenging a French law that demands that turbans be taken off while being photographed for identity cards.

According to a news service, the United Sikhs, an NGO that filed the case, says the French legislation “undermines the freedom of thought, conscience and religion”.

Mejindarpal Kaur, director of United Sikhs, told reporters here on Monday that it was also necessary to go to the international court because “if left unchecked, the French law ... will have a domino effect globally”. An estimated 10,000 Sikhs live in France.

The case before ECHR will be the first such since France passed a law in March 2004 banishing religious symbols, including Sikh turbans, from public schools.

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