Bosnian man wins payout for skullcap removal order

BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA VIOLATED a man’s religious rights by punishing him for refusing to remove his skullcap during a trial, a top European court has ruled.

Husmet Hamidoviü, a Wahhabi Muslim, was convicted of contempt of court after he refused to remove the religious headgear during his trial in 2012.

He was testifying about an attack on the US Embassy in Sarajevo the previous year when he was asked to remove his skullcap in court, where religious symbols or clothing are not permitted.

Wahhabi Muslims practice an ultraconservative form of Islam and oppose the concept of a secular state, saying they recognise only God’s law and court.

Mr Hamidoviü, who belongs to the same sect, was convicted after he refused to do so, saying it was his religious duty.

But the European Court of Human Rights found this week there was nothing to indicate the Bosnian citizen was disrespectful during the 2012 trial.

In a 6-1 decision it said the actions against him had been a violation of Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights concerning freedom of religion.

Though Mr Hamidovic is a Muslim, the ruling — which also instructed the court to pay him €4,500 (around £4,000) in non-pecuniary damages — has wider implications for the display of religious symbols in European court cases.

The ruling by the European court read: “Punishing him with contempt of court on the sole ground that he had refused to remove his skullcap, a religious symbol, had not therefore been necessary in a democratic society and had breached his fundamental right to manifest his religion.”