The Dutch Public Prosecutor's Office is going to appeal against a ruling by a Dutch judge who annulled a fine imposed on an Orthodox Jewish man for failing to carry the mandatory identity card on a Sabbath.
The man was stopped and searched in the town of Rijswijk on a Saturday and fined 150 euros. In his defence, he argued that his religion forbids him to carry anything with him outdoors on the Sabbath (Saturday). The judge in the The Hague ruled that the man’s religious duty came before his obligation to meet the country’s legal requirements.
The Public Prosecutor's Office disagrees: “The legislative branch decided to require everyone over a certain age to carry an ID card. That means everyone is required to meet that obligation, even those who have religious convictions. The law makes no exceptions.”
It is not yet clear when the case will be heard.
The judge’s ruling, which was announced on Friday, has been criticised by several MPs. Tofik Dibi of the Green Left party spoke of a world gone topsy-turvy: “Every religion is circumscribed by law, not the other way around.”
A tweet by Democrats D66 MP Boris van der Ham read: “God above the law? No. Religion is nothing but one of many opinions. It is circumscribed by the same state laws.”
(cl/imm)
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