'I have to keep her indoors now': Muslim husband's shocking response as wife is first to be fined £430 for wearing a burka



Novara's mayor Massimo Giordano introduced local laws banning clothing that 'prevents the identification of the wearer inside public buildings'

A husband has vowed to keep his wife indoors after she became the first woman in Italy to be fined for wearing a burka in public.

Amel Marmouri, 26, was handed the 500 euro (£430) penalty after she was spotted queuing inside a post office by police with her body and face fully covered by the garment.

She was warned she would receive another fine if she were spotted again in her burka.

Yesterday her husband said as a result he had no option but to stop her from going out.

Unemployed Ben Salah Braim, 36, said: 'I just don't know where we are going to get 500 euros to pay the fine.

'We thought as she was going to the mosque she was OK to wear the burka.

'We knew about the law and I know that (the law) is not against my religion but now Amel will have to stay indoors. I can't have other men looking at her.

'If the law says she can't wear one then she will have to stay inside night and day. There is nothing I can do.'

Under Italian anti-terrorist legislation, introduced during the 1970s to fight political activists, it is illegal to be seen in a public place with your face covered.

The rule has never been properly enforced but earlier this year the mayor of Novara, where the couple live, introduced local laws which ban any clothing that 'prevents the immediate identification of the wearer inside public buildings'.

The case comes days after Belgium's lower house of parliament voted to prohibit the wearing of full face veils in public.

If the senate agrees, it would become Europe's first national 'burka ban'.

Novara in northern Italy, where the couple are from







Novara's Mayor Massimo Giordano is a member of the Northern League Party, which has campaigned for a clampdown on immigration and the building of mosques.



Mr Giordano said: 'I signed the new regulations for reasons of security but also so that people who come to live in our city are aware and respect our traditions.



'The regulations in Novara specifically cover people wearing clothing that prevents them from being identified in a public place, and a post office is a public place.

Veiled: A Muslim woman wearing the burka (posed by model)

'This would also apply to a motorcyclist who walked into a post office wearing a crash helmet. The people of Novara do not want to see people walking around in the city wearing a burka.



'This is the only way to stop behaviour that makes the already difficult process of integration even harder.'

Police chief Paolo Cortese said: 'The fine was given because the woman was inside the post office at the time, which is a public building.'

The Northern League, which once called for the Italian Navy to shell boats carrying illegal immigrants towards the country, has called for the original 1975 terror law to be amended and make specific reference to Islamic face coverings.



The proposed wording would prohibit 'the use of female garments common among women of Islamic faith known as burkas'.



Muslim groups in Italy insisted that Italian laws must be respected.

Imam Izzedin Elzir, president of the Islamic Community and Organisations Union in Italy, said: 'We are for the freedom of women and against veils of any kind and Italian laws must be respected.

'We as an organisation have always said that we are against face veils or coverings in Italy because the law of recognition has to be observed.'



