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Baku police disperses hijab rally participants
May 6, 2011 - 16:36 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net -
Police in the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, have broken up a protest
against a ban on schoolgirls wearing the Islamic headscarf, or hijab.
A crowd estimated at between 100 and several hundred people gathered
outside the Education Ministry shouting `God is great' and demanding
the resignation of Education Minister Misir Mardanov.
Video footage by an RFE/RL correspondent shows police dragging several
people away in police vans. It's not clear how many people were
detained.
According to Eurasianet, a video of the scuffle posted on YouTube
depicts something less than an orderly resolution of the matter. One
policeman sprays an unknown substance into the face of a chanting
protester as he is bundled into a police car. Another, sporting an
officer's flamboyant hat, delivers a well-aimed kick to the backside
of a departing protester.
The hijab ban announced late last year has sparked a series of public
protests in Azerbaijan.
Authorities say the ban is part of an attempt to restore Soviet-era
school uniforms to public education.
From: A. Papazian
May 6, 2011 - 16:36 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net -
Police in the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, have broken up a protest
against a ban on schoolgirls wearing the Islamic headscarf, or hijab.
A crowd estimated at between 100 and several hundred people gathered
outside the Education Ministry shouting `God is great' and demanding
the resignation of Education Minister Misir Mardanov.
Video footage by an RFE/RL correspondent shows police dragging several
people away in police vans. It's not clear how many people were
detained.
According to Eurasianet, a video of the scuffle posted on YouTube
depicts something less than an orderly resolution of the matter. One
policeman sprays an unknown substance into the face of a chanting
protester as he is bundled into a police car. Another, sporting an
officer's flamboyant hat, delivers a well-aimed kick to the backside
of a departing protester.
The hijab ban announced late last year has sparked a series of public
protests in Azerbaijan.
Authorities say the ban is part of an attempt to restore Soviet-era
school uniforms to public education.
From: A. Papazian