Woman forced to remove hijab in jail settles for $120K

Aida Shyef Al-Kadi, of St. Louis Park, attends a press conference at CAIR-MN headquarters in Minneapolis on Tuesday, December 17, 2019. Al-Kadi reached a settlement with Ramsey County for $120,000 after claiming religious discrimination after being forced to remove her hijab for a booking photo and go without a hijab for a time while in jail. (Leila Navidi/Star Tribune via AP)

by: The Associated Press

Posted: Dec 18, 2019 / 08:57 AM CST

Updated: Dec 18, 2019 / 08:57 AM CST

A Minnesota Muslim woman has received $120,000 to settle her lawsuit alleging she was forced to strip in jail and remove her hijab for a booking photo over a traffic offense.

Fifty-seven-year-old Aida Shyef Al-Kadi, of St. Louis Park, and her attorneys on Tuesday announced the settlement approved by a federal judge last month. Al-Kadi says her treatment at the Ramsey County jail in 2013 was “one of the most humiliating and harmful experiences”of her life.

A judge had issued a warrant for Al-Kadi’s arrest after she missed a court hearing over a traffic offense while taking her daughter to the hospital.