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TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Latvia's main airport denies having demanded an Arab diplomat to remove her hijab headscarf during a security check after a local newspaper reported her country had handed in a note to the Latvian Foreign Ministry complaining of unacceptable treatment.
The Baltic News Agency quoted Friday airport deputy security chief Inta Smildzina saying Hanan Khalfan Obaid Ali Al Madhani, ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to Latvia, had been asked to remove her coat.
BNS said Smildzina had no information Al Madhani had been asked to remove her hijab.
Latvia daily Neatkariga Rita Avize wrote airport staff "had allegedly shown disrespect of Muslim traditions," hence the note.
No one with the airport, the embassy or the Foreign Ministry was available to comment on the case.
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