Muslim woman wins USD 85k lawsuit after police remove her hijab

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The city has agreed to pay USD 85,000 to a Muslim woman, who according to her, claimed that the New York Police Department (NYPD) forces had 'forcibly' made her to remove the hijab.

The woman, named Rabab Musa, said that her hijab was confiscated by the NYPD in Midtown South Precinct stationhouse after she was taken into custody on September 6, 2016.

The woman claimed that she was thrown into a holding cell with men and then transferred to a Brooklyn police station in the city, where she was strip-searched, according to NY Daily News. Police urged her to 'confess to what she did,' with no further explanation, she said.

During the interrogation, the NYPD told to 'confess to what she did, with no further explanation" and was released after six hours without being charged.

It is not known why the police arrested Musa. However, according to an NYPD source, the police 'nabbed' the wrong person.

Many Muslim women wear hijabs, or veils, in the presence of men who are not members of their immediate families.

The settlement was made official in papers filed in Manhattan Supreme Court on Wednesday. A US Law Department spokesperson said that the settlement was in the best interest of the city.

'My client feels vindicated. It's a small measure of justice,' her attorney, Aymen Aboushi, said.

The deal comes after the city settled a case of three Muslim women, who according to them were asked to take off their hijabs for mugshots. The women were brought in Brooklyn Federal Court and Aboushi had handled that case as well.

One woman alleged that she had to remove her hijab at Brooklyn Central Booking, where her photo was taken by a male cop.

Last year, the NYPD sent its police personnel guidance regarding religious headwear that clarified rules previously distributed in March 2015 saying, "When a person is opposed to removing their religious headgear, they can be taken to a private space at police headquarters." However, according to Musa, the NYPD had not followed the rule.

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