Written by Don Byrd
A European court ruled today that international religious freedom laws protect a British Airways employee’s right to wear a cross over her uniform. NBC News has details.
In its statement, the court said [Nadia] Eweida was sent home without pay in 2006 after she decided to start wearing a cross on a chain on top of her uniform in defiance of British Airway’s then policy to allow no visible jewelry. She returned to work in 2007 after BA changed its rules to allow religious and charity symbols.
The court said freedom of religion was “an essential part of the identity of believers and one of the foundations of pluralistic, democratic societies.”
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Shami Chakrabarti, director of U.K. human rights group Liberty, said in an emailed statement that the judgment was “an excellent result for equal treatment, religious freedom and common sense.”“Nadia Eweida wasn’t hurting anyone and was perfectly capable of doing her job whilst wearing a small cross,” she said. “She had just as much a right to express her faith as a Sikh man in a turban or a Muslim woman with a headscarf.”
Three other applicants with religious freedom arguments were denied on the ground that their religious exercise would impede the safety, health or freedom of others.
