Court convicts students in veil standoff

A Tunisian court last Thursday convicted two veiled students of destroying public property in the office of a university dean they accused of slapping one of them. The court dropped the case against the dean of the faculty of humanities at Manouba University, ruling that there was no proof of an assault, reports Associated Press.

The university forbids face-covering veils in classes and at exams. The court handed down suspended prison sentences of four and two months for the women. Their lawyer, Anouar Ouled Ali, said he plans to appeal the ruling. The dean, Habib Kazdaghli, said the trial was “emblematic” because it represented a “challenge to the rule of law” in Tunisia.

Manouba University has been one of the most visible flashpoints of the struggle in post-uprising Tunisia over the role of religion in public life.
Full report on The Washington Post site