Brussels deports Danish woman wearing niqab to Tunis

By Ahmet Sait Akcay

ANKARA

A Danish woman, who allegedly refused to take off her niqab at the Brussels airport, has been deported after police were unable to identify her, according to a Belgian official Saturday.

State Secretary for Asylum and Migration Theo Francken confirmed the incident on his official Twitter account.

“A Danish citizen coming from Tunis refused to take off her niqaab at our border. Police could not identify her. She was sent back to Tunis,” Francken tweeted.

He did not identify the woman by her name.

“Thursday I informed my Danish colleague Inger [Stojberg, Danish minister for immigration, integration and housing] about the niqaab-incident with a Danish citizen on our Schengenborder,” he added.

In November 2015, police in Brussels briefly held a Saudi woman wearing a niqab.

A law banning women from wearing the full-face veil, niqab, and burqa came into force in Belgium on July 23, 2011. Women wearing full-face veils in public are subject to fines and can face up to seven days in jail in the country.