Canadian Court Orders More Hearings On Whether Witness Can Wear Niqab

Toronto's Globe and Mail and the National Post report on a decision handed down last Thursday by Ontario's Superior Court of Justice on whether a Muslim woman should be allowed to testify in court with her face fully covered by a niqab. The Toronto-area woman wants to testify with her face veiled at the trial of two men charged with sexually assaulting her when she was a child. A Provincial Court judge refused her request, finding that she was motivated more by comfort than by religious belief. The Superior Court reversed the decision, instructing the Provincial Court to hold two hearings-- one on whether the woman's beliefs are sincere, and a second on whether the evidence rules permit introduction of testimony from a veiled witness.