As Sana Saeed put it “Justice isn’t blind in Quebec” not surprising given the climate in Quebec. This is similar to another court case a couple of year back in Georgia when a judge jailed Sabreen Abdulrahmaan to 10 days in prison for wearing a headscarf to court.
Quebec judge wouldn’t hear case of woman wearing hijab
Judge Eliana Marengo is heard telling Rania El-Alloul courtroom is a secular place in audio obtained by CBC
By Steve Rukavina, CBC News Posted: Feb 26, 2015 4:28 PM ET
A Quebec judge told a woman appearing in her Montreal courtroom she would not hear her case until she removed her hijab.
In an audio recording of the proceedings obtained by CBC News, Judge Eliana Marengo is heard telling Rania El-Alloul on Tuesday that the courtroom is a secular place and that she is not suitably dressed.
“Hats and sunglasses for example, are not allowed. And I don’t see why scarves on the head would be either,” Marengo says in the recording.
“The same rules need to be applied to everyone. I will therefore not hear you if you are wearing a scarf on your head, just as I would not allow a person to appear before me wearing a hat or sunglasses on his or her head, or any other garment not suitable for a court proceeding.”
El-Alloul was in court to apply to get her car back after it was seized by Quebec’s automobile insurance board, the SAAQ.
‘The judge should have known better. It’s not the first time somebody walks into a courtroom with a religious dress’– Sameer Zuberi, Canadian Muslim Forum’
The car was seized after police stopped El-Alloul’s son for driving with a suspended licence. In such cases, the board keeps the car for a month. If someone wants it back sooner, they have to appear before a Court of Quebec judge to make a request. That’s what El-Alloul was trying to do Tuesday afternoon.
When El-Alloul first appeared before Marengo, the judge asked her why she had a scarf on her head. El-Alloul replied that it was because she is a Muslim. The judge then said she would take a 30-minute recess.