Firing of British Prison Officer For Wearing Sikh Kirpan Is Upheld

In Britain, an Employment Tribunal has upheld the firing of a Sikh prison officer who insisted on wearing his kirpan (small ceremonial dagger) in Dovegate Prison near Uttoxeter. This Is Derbyshire reported Saturday that the Tribunal's judge ruled prison officer Jagdip Singh Dhinsa had not been discriminated against. The Tribunal also upheld a National Offender Management Service ban on staff wearing the Kirpan in prisons, except for Sikh prison chaplains. The The Ministry of Justice warned of the risks involved: "a member of staff may be targeted or even taken hostage by prisoners if it is known that he is wearing the Kirpan [or] ... the Kirpan may be inadvertently dropped and lost within the prison."