Muslim woman who hasn't shown her face in public for 18 years ordered to remove veil to give evidence in Australian court

A strict Muslim woman who says she has never shown her face in public, has been ordered by a female judge to remove her veil when she gives evidence in an Australian court. District Court judge Shauna Deane said in the Western Australian Supreme Court today that in the interest of a fair trial against a man accused of fraud, she should not be allowed to wear a niqab, which allows only the eyes to be seen.

The 36-year-old woman, known only as Tasneem, said she was a strict Muslim and it was against her religion to show her face anywhere except in the confines of her home. The defence has argued that her whole face should be seen so the jury could decide on the veracity of her evidence.

But prosecutor Mark Ritter told the court that Tasneem had not shown her face in public in more than 18 years and would find it stressful to reveal her features to strange men. The judge agreed that the jury should have the opportunity to assess the facial expressions of the Islamic Studies teacher to help weigh up her credibility as a witness.

Her decision, she added, was not to set a precedent for other courts - it was up to them to assess similar circumstances on a case-by-case basis. Tasneem worked at a school as a tutor where the accused man, Anwar Sayed, ran the Muslim Ladies College in Perth's southern suburbs. He has been accused of stealing up to £400,000 in public funds by artificially inflating student numbers.

Outside the court Mr Sayed said he was worried about his safety and that of the witness but pointed out that he had no objection to the niqab being worn in court. 'This was a legal matter in which I had no role to play,' he said.

He claimed he had been stabbed the previous week after receiving death threats in hand-written notes and phone calls about the niqab issue. One of his lawyers, Mr Ludher Swaran, said the accused man had become 'quite isolated' within the Muslim community.

'There is quite a bit of pressure on him. He is a Muslim, the witness is a Muslim, the issue of a niqab is very sensitive among Muslims, so he would rather not have had this argument done in court.' Mr Swaran said Mr Sayed had been stabbed with a bottle in the attack. 'His shirt was torn, there were lacerations on his chest, lacerations on his forehead.' A date is to be set for the hearing.