Spanish city bans full veils in public buildings

LERIDA - The Spanish city of Lerida Friday banned women from wearing veils that fully cover the face in its public buildings.

Lerida, which has 135,000 inhabitants, is the first community in Spain to outlaw the dress worn by conservative Muslims.

The city dropped an original plan to also prohibit women wearing a burqa or niqab on the streets, after legal advisors said this was beyond the scope of bylaws.

“Full veils offend against the dignity of women and stand for discrimination,” said Angel Ros, the socialist mayor of the community in north-eastern Spain’s Catalonia region.

A group of city Muslims said they would appeal the bylaw all the way to Spain’s constitutional court in Madrid.