On April 19, a French administrative court near Paris upheld the expulsion of three Sikh school students for wearing turbans in violation of last year's much-discussed French law banning the wearing of "conspicuous" symbols and religious attire in public schools. The lawyer for the students argued that the expulsion violated the French Constitution and Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights that permits interference with religious practice only on grounds of public safety, order, health, morals or the protection of others. A report by the United Sikhs organization inndicates that many private schools are also voluntarily implementing the legal ban that formally applies only to public schools.
In a related case, reported in the same Panthic Weekly article, another Sikh in France is suing for permission to wear his turban in his passport and ID-card photos.
