Limassol District Court last week adjudicated an unprecedented case of assault against a 14-year-old Muslim girl who had refused to wear her religious headscarf to school, Philenews reported on Wednesday.
The defendants were the teenager’s 41-year-old father and 31-year-old stepmother who both beat her because she refused to wear her ‘hijab’ to school.
The Court imposed a four-month suspended prison sentence on the 41-year-old father and a fine on the 31-year-old stepmother.
The case, tried before closed doors, was reported to the Police and Social Welfare Services back in 2021.
The father admitted the offence of common assault against the minor and expressed remorse.
He said he had felt it was appropriate for his daughter to wear the hijab as their religious beliefs made it mandatory.
He also said he was wrong and that it is best for his daughter to conform to the Western world’s standards.
After the incident and her complaint to the authorities, the minor was removed from her father’s residence and her supervision was taken over by the Social Welfare Services.
