guardian.co.uk,
Angelique Chrisafis in Paris, Sunday 19 August 2012
Pussy Riot members in their trademark colourful balaclavas. Protesters in similar face-coverings have been arrested at a rally in Marseille. Photograph: AP |
Several
people protesting peacefully in Marseille against the trial of the Russian punk
band Pussy Riot were detained by police for wearing balaclavas, under France's
controversial law that bans Muslim niqabs and all face-coverings from public
places.
About 30
demonstrators gathered outside the Russian consulate in the southern French
city on Friday to protest against the trial of members of the feminist group
famous for wearing bright dresses and colourful balaclavas.
But police
swooped on about seven wearing multicoloured face-masks in solidarity with the
band, reported La Provence. Asked why the police had stopped the demonstrators
who had been standing peacefully behind a banner about the power of poetry, a
senior officer told the newspaper: "They are wearing balaclavas in a
public space. It's illegal." He said the demonstrators would be questioned
and a report written.
In April
2011, Nicolas Sarkozy's government introduced a law banning women from wearingthe niqab, or full face-veil, in public places. To circumvent accusations that
the law singled out Muslims, the bill was officially called the law against
covering one's face in public places.
Special
exemptions were created for motorcycle helmets or sports equipment such as
fencing masks. There are also exemptions for people appearing in parades,
celebrations or places of worship.
The
Marseille protesters – including poets, a book editor, and a former culture
official – who had removed their masks at police request, were put in a riot
van and driven to the nearest police station amid cries of "Absurd!"
and "Ridiculous!". They were released that afternoon. Under the law,
the case can be referred to a local judge who can hand down a €150 fine, a
citizenship course or both.
"We
came here to defend freedom of expression in Russia and we find ourselves
stopped by French police," one pensioner at the rally told the paper.
When three
members of Pussy Riot were sentenced to two years in prison for hooliganism on
Friday, France said the sentence was "disproportionate".
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