Turkey hit for barring blind girl from school

(MENAFN- Arab Times) The European Court of Human Rights on Tuesday condemned Turkey for refusing a blind girl admission to Istanbul's National Music Academy, ordering Ankara to pay her 10,000 euros ($11,000) in damages. The girl, who was born in 1989, applied to the school in 2004 and although she was "completely qualifi ed for admission", it refused to enrol her "based solely on the fact that she was blind".

The teenager, who plays the "baglama" which is a type of lute, had passed all of the entrance exams, but the school denied her entry in a clear case of "discrimination on the grounds of disability". Although she had presented a medical certifi cate from a hospital concluding that she could attend lessons in the sections of the music academy where eyesight was not required, it was rejected by the academy, the court said.