Australia's Daily Telegraph reported yesterday that a trial court judge in the Australian state of New South Wales has ruled that a Muslim woman who is plaintiff in a civil case against the state and federal governments may not take the stand in her own trial without removing her veil which conceals her face. Moutia Elzahed, who is one of two women married to a convicted Islamic extremist, is suing over alleged police brutality during a 2014 counter-terrorism raid of her home. Elzhed says that for religious reasons she cannot show her face to any man outside her family. She rejected alternatives of testifying in closed court or via a closed circuit television link since either would show her face to the male lawyers involved in the case. Elzhed also refused to stand when Judge Audrey Balla entered the courtroom.
UPDATE: Here is the full text of the judge's decision.
