A man in a shark costume has fallen foul of an anti-burka law that recently came into force in Austria.<\/p>\n
Designed to ban the full-face Islamic veil, the law says people’s faces must be visible from hairline to chin.<\/p>\n
The man in the shark mask was advertising a business in central Vienna and the business was fined.<\/p>\n
Street musicians in animal masks have also been given official warnings. Police have called for the controversial new law to be clarified.<\/p>\n
The company that had employed the man in a shark costume posted a picture of him on Facebook and announced the fine, saying officers had forced the man to take the costume head off. “Life isn’t easy,” they wrote.<\/p>\n
His costume reportedly came to the attention of police after a member of the public reported him for breaking the law.<\/p>\n
Full-face burka-style veils are banned in several European countries.<\/p>\n
In January Austria’s ruling coalition agreed to prohibit full-face veils (niqab and burka) in public spaces such as courts and schools. It said it was considering a more general ban on state employees wearing the headscarf and other religious symbols.<\/p>\n
The measures were seen as an attempt to counter the rise of the far-right Freedom Party, which almost won the presidency in December 2016.<\/p>\n
An Algerian billionaire wearing a Halloween mask has led a protest outside the Austrian interior ministry in Vienna, promising to pay the fines of any women who are prosecuted for wearing the niqab or burka.<\/p>\n
Source: bbc.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"