Supreme Court upholds police right to forcibly remove hijabs

Finland’s Supreme Court has upheld an appellate court ruling that police had the right to forcibly remove the hijabs of two asylum seekers for identification photographs, Yle reports.

The women had refused to remove their religious headscarves for registration photographs at the Hämeenlinna police station in May 2017. They cited their religion during the incident.

The Supreme Court examined whether the police had lawful grounds to use force to remove the hijabs. It did not change the appellate court’s ruling, issued at the beginning of 2024.