Former Guantanamo Bay detainee Mamdouh Habib has requested the Anti-Discrimination Board to investigate a Muslim woman’s complaint against a police officer.
The complaint said a police officer touched the woman’s veil, a claim strongly denied by the police.
Mr Habib’s friend, Karnita Mathews, of Campbelltown, said she was travelling down Stacey Rd, Woodbine, on June 7 about 6.15pm when a police officer pulled her over for a random breath test.
She said she was wearing a niqab at the time, which covers her entire face except for the eyes, and claimed the officer asked her to remove it to identify her after looking at her driver’s licence .
“I only showed him half my face but he told me he wanted to see my whole face. I told him I wasn’t supposed to show him,” she said.
“He then came towards me and touched the edge of my niqab.”
But acting assistant police commissioner and southwest metropolitan region commander Peter McErlain said senior police examined in-car video and strongly refute any allegation that the officer involved acted inappropriately.
“Footage of the incident clearly shows the woman was at all times treated with respect in keeping with her cultural and religious belief,” he said.
Mr Habib, of Bankstown, said he has written a letter to Campbelltown police commander Supt Mick Goodwin seeking an apology from the officer involved.