Muslim woman must remove her veil to give evidence, judge rules

A Muslim woman defendant must remove her full-face veil to give evidence, a judge has ruled.

Judge Peter Murphy said today at Blackfriars Crown Court that the woman, who is facing a charge of witness intimidation, can however give evidence from behind a screen or via video link, hiding her from public view.

She is free to wear the niqaab for the duration of the trial, when she is not giving evidence herself.

In a ruling the first of its kind, Judge Murphy said that to allow the woman to give evidence with her face covered would "drive a coach and horses through the way in which justice has been administered in the courts of England and Wales for centuries".

The woman, known as D in the judgment, initially appeared before the court in August when she refused to remove her niqaab to submit her plea.

Her case was postponed until September when she was identified by a female police officer who had previously handled her case.

Judge Murphy said that it is the court, not the defendant, which controls proceedings.

"A defendant cannot, by claiming to adopt a particular religious practice, oblige the court to set aside its established procedure to accommodate that practice. That would be to privilege religious practice in a discriminatory way".

Judge Murphy was however not persuaded of the importance of a jury's ability to scrutinise the defendant throughout proceedings, but said it was unfair for a jury to pass judgment on a person they could not see.

"It is unfair to expect that juror to try to evaluate the evidence given by a person whom she cannot see, deprived of an essential tool for doing so: namely, being able to observe the demeanour of the witness; her reaction to being questioned; her reaction to other evidence as it is given."

Citing Lady Hale's judgment in the Denbigh High School case, Judge Murphy dismissed any suggestion that the wearing of the niqaab is incompatible with participation in public life in England and Wales.

"The niqaab is worn by choice by many spiritually-minded, thoughtful and intelligent women, who do not deserve to be demeaned by superficial and uninformed criticisms of their choice".

Judge Murphy stated in his judgment that his decision only applied to defendants before the Crown Court, and not the civil or family courts.

Similarly the judgment was not intended to apply to a woman wearing a niqaab when in the Crown Court as a witness, juror or advocate.