Judge rules woman must remove niqab to testify

http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/04/24/after-years-and-a-sharply-divided-supreme-court-decision-judge-rules-woman-must-remove-niqab-to-testify/

A Muslim woman must remove her niqab before testifying against two men accused of sexually assaulting her three decades ago, an Ontario judge ruled Wednesday.
The landmark decision by Justice Norris Weisman comes after years of legal wrangling, pitting the accused’s right to a fair trial against the complainant’s freedom of religion. The case went all the way to the Supreme Court, where a split decision effectively sent it back to the lower court.
While Judge Weisman wrestled with the implications of making the woman — who can be identified only as N.S. — choose between her religious convictions and her desire to seek justice, he ultimately gave greater weight to the potential negative consequences for the accused.