Turban row: 3 face expulsion

Felix de Belloy, an attorney for the three boys, had argued that as they had no intention of trying to win converts to their faith, the boys posed no threat to the law. De Belloy and another lawyer for the teens, Antoine Beauquier, said they would bring the case before the European Court of Human Rights if they did not succeed in the French system.

France’s ‘‘secularity’’ law, which came into effect at the start of the academic year in September, forbids the wearing of ‘‘conspicuous’’ religious insignia in State schools, like Muslim headscarves and Sikh turbans. Though the law does not single out any specific faith, many in the country’s five-million-strong Muslim community believe the hijab worn by teenage girls was the main target.

The three boys expelled wore keskis, or under-turbans — a more discreet version of the turban often worn for sleeping. Education authorities initially agreed to allow the Sikh boys to wear the thin cloth but later reneged. — PTI