The European Court of Human Rights has rejected an appeal by a Turkish woman against a ban on the wearing of Islamic headscarves in Turkish universities.
Leyla Sahin brought a case in 1998 after she had been prohibited from wearing the Islamic headscarf at Istanbul university.
Ms Sahin, who comes from a traditional family of practising Muslims, argued that a ban on wearing the Islamic headscarf obliged students to choose between education and religion and discriminated between believers and non-believers.
She claimed the ban constituted an interference with her right to practice her religion.
However, the judges ruled that the ban pursued the legitimate aims of protecting the rights and freedoms of others and of protecting public order.
The court concluded that the State of Turkey did not commit any human rights violation in the case.
EU foreign ministers agreed a historic deal in October to enable the start of accession negotiations with Turkey, a European, secular and overwhelmingly Muslim country.
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