A British national and Sikh has turned up to the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights stating that in October and December 2009 and in June 2010 he was asked to take off his turban while going through security at the Warsaw Airport. What is crucial, according to the religion, one of the mean to manifest someone’s beliefs is wearing head covering. It is thought that the turban creates a connection with god and covers a very important part of the human body. The demand to take off the head covering is perceived as an act of a highly intrusive nature and therefore asking to do it publicly is insulting and ashaming.
He thus refused to take off the turban and explained to the Border Guard officers the reasons laying underneath his decision. He was then fined for the amount of 500 PLN (approx. 150 euro) for disobeying the instructions of the authorities. After the incident, the British national lodged a complaint to the Commander of the Border Guard Office. He stated that he had gone through the Warsaw airport and other European and American airports on numerous occasions and never before had been subjected to such a control.
Boarder Guard’s statement
In response to the complaint, the British national in January 2010 received an letter from the Border Guard Office. The Commander of the Office stated that the officers conducted the security check properly. He claimed that it was in compliance with the binding Polish law as well as with the European Parliament and Council of Europe regulation of 2002.
According to this document passengers are subjected to manual inspection and control with the usage of metal-detector gates. In case this control turns to be not sufficient, passengers may possibly be subjected to a manual inspection with the employ of hand-held metal detector.
Appeal of the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights
On 2 June 2010 the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights issued a statement to the Border Guard Office claiming that according to the USA Transportation Department guidelines, taking off a turban is only necessary if the metal detector signals such a need or if there exists other strong indication that an individual’s wardrobe should be checked. Moreover, on the grounds of Polish law there exists no obligation to take off the head covering when going through security at the airport.
In relation to the above, the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights appealed to the Border Guard office to reanalyze the situation of the necessity to demand taking off the head covering during security checks at the airport. It is irrefutable that the security of the passengers is of the utmost importance. Border Guard officers thus conduct security checks with the usage of all legally accepted methods and do not foresee any exception in this area. However, according to the Foundation, asking to remove a turban by a Sikh has no justification is binding law and therefore constitutes discriminatory treating based on the religion. It its letter the Foundation also appealed to the authorities to provide Border Guard’s officers adequate training regarding cultural differences.
