Dutch court: Jews must also carry ID cards

Orthodox man fined for breaking 2005 law; argued he couldn’t carry identification on Shabbat

AMSTERDAM (AP) — A Dutch appeals court has upheld a $90 fine against an Orthodox Jew who refused to show police an identity card, citing religious reasons.

The Hague Appeals Court ruled that a law which makes it mandatory for all people older than 14 to carry ID cards and show them to police upon request does not have a religious exemption.

The man, whose name was not released due to privacy laws, had argued it was against his religious beliefs to carry anything but his clothing on Shabbat.

The ruling didn’t say why police approached the man.

The law was introduced in 2005 amid a wave of anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim sentiment. Carrying ID cards hadn’t previously been mandatory in the Netherlands since the Nazi occupation in World War II.