Council files lawsuit after
Muslim woman says Fairfax police forced her to remove hijab
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by Samantha Mitchell
Relations (CAIR) announced it
held an online press conference to declare the filing of a federal lawsuit in
Alexandria for Abrar Omeish, who says she was pepper-sprayed and forced to take
off her hijab after being pulled over by a Fairfax County police officer in
2019.
CAIR asserts that the lawsuit on
behalf of Omeish, who is a Virginia elected official, is meant to challenge
police brutality, and to assist Omeish in launching the 'Fight for Five'
colation for local and state reforms.
According to a press release sent
out by CAIR, Omeish was pulled over by the Fairfax County officer after she
turned right at a red light. She was then forced to remove her hijab, according
to CAIR, and photographed in violation of federal law.
Gadeir Abbas, an attorney with
the council, clarified that the incident happened in March 2019.
Abbas says the filing is
supported by other community groups, leaders and activists to go "against
the police brutality" in the case where he says Omeish was
"illegally" forced to remove her hijab.
"Whether it's about what
we're seeing now at the Capitol, and the conversations about race and policing
in this country, what we saw this summer, what's been going on for many years,
this was a situation that I never expected being in," Omeish said during
the online press conference. "It's certainly not pleasant to have to
imagine the prospect of a lawsuit, of what that's going to entail, on putting
my privacy on public display."
She adds that she ended up with a
concussion that night and she tried to explain the importance of her hijab, but
she said it "didn't matter in that particular instance."
Omeish explains she's been
wearing the hijab since the second grade, but says the "bigger picture is
what's happening next."
She says she's been working for
the past year to push for reform based on what happened, adding she says she
hasn't seen much change in the aftermath, which is why she says she's calling
for the lawsuit.
"The disproportionate impact
that law enforcement has had on our community is untenable, it's unacceptable -
and we're demanding something different, and I feel like this is my obligation
to the community," Omeish explained.
According to Lena Masir, the CAIR
Litigation Director, the lawsuit goes against the "egregious and senseless
violation of [Omeish's] constitutional rights."
Masir adds that Omeish was pulled
over for a minor traffic violation while she was on the way to a campaign rally
for the Fairfax County School Board and says that the officer shouted at her,
"forced her" out of her car and pepper-sprayed her. Masir clarified
that the department investigated and said the officer used "excessive use
of force" and Omeish "never presented any threat of danger."
"[Officers] forced Ms.
Omeish to remove her hijab in plain view of male officers and detainees being
held at that facility just to take her booking photo," Masir asserted.
"Her photograph without her hijab was then uploaded to a statewide database
that's available to all law enforcement in Virginia and the public, anyone who
requests it, causing her to suffer from irreparable harm."
Masir also elaborated that out of
any department of state and country-wide correctional facilities, "none of
them require the removal of the hijab" or religious head coverings for
identification purposes.
She adds that the hijab is
"worn by many Muslim women around the world to safeguard their
modesty," expressing the importance of it to Muslim women.
CAIR adds that Fairfax County
Chief of Police's internal investigation found that the use of force in the
case was "improper and in violation of departmental regulations."
"It's time Fairfax County
joined other law enforcement agencies in respecting and protecting the rights
of Muslim women and people of other faiths," Masir reiterated, adding that
there are current 55,000 Muslims residing in Fairfax County.
She added that the council has
been seeing a "rising trend" in cases of Muslim women being forced to
remove their hijab, and there are currently pending lawsuits in Michigan,
Florida and in California "challenging similar policies."
"We file this lawsuit on
behalf of Ms. Omeish to both vindicate her rights, but also to impose a policy
change that requires Fairfax County to respect the rights of Muslim women that
wear the hijab," Masir explained.
In the press release, CAIR
describes its organization as "America’s largest Muslim civil liberties
and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance understanding of Islam,
protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims."