<p>Georgina Richards, 36, who is eight-month pregnant, reluctantly agreed when magistrates said they might not accept her evidence if they could not see her "facial expressions", according to Daily Mail.<br /><br />The case at Leicester Magistrates Court was held up for over an hour Thursday while magistrates agreed to hear her evidence from behind a screen.<br /><br />Chairman of the bench Lawrence Faulkner told her: "We need to see a person's facial expressions to assess the evidence they are giving. If you refuse to remove your veil, we may not be able to accept your evidence."<br /><br />Richards gave evidence against her ex-partner Ismail Mangera, 30, who is accused of punching Richards in the face.<br /><br />After the hearing, Richards said: "I was a bit unhappy that he told me to take my veil off. They put screens up next to me but I didn't really want to do it. But I thought the case would be dropped if I didn't take it off.<br /><br />"It just made me feel uncomfortable. They wanted to see the expression on my face but I don't think it really matters, I think I could have done it with my veil on. Now I just feel relieved that I've said what I've got to say."<br /><br />Earlier, Richards told the court that her religion states she should not remove her veil in front of men in public.<br /><br />The court heard that Mangera attacked Richards, mother to three of the couple's children and pregnant with their fourth, between April 1 and April 30. Sentencing was deferred until Oct 20 to allow a probation report to be produced.</p>
<p>Georgina Richards, 36, who is eight-month pregnant, reluctantly agreed when magistrates said they might not accept her evidence if they could not see her "facial expressions", according to Daily Mail.<br /><br />The case at Leicester Magistrates Court was held up for over an hour Thursday while magistrates agreed to hear her evidence from behind a screen.<br /><br />Chairman of the bench Lawrence Faulkner told her: "We need to see a person's facial expressions to assess the evidence they are giving. If you refuse to remove your veil, we may not be able to accept your evidence."<br /><br />Richards gave evidence against her ex-partner Ismail Mangera, 30, who is accused of punching Richards in the face.<br /><br />After the hearing, Richards said: "I was a bit unhappy that he told me to take my veil off. They put screens up next to me but I didn't really want to do it. But I thought the case would be dropped if I didn't take it off.<br /><br />"It just made me feel uncomfortable. They wanted to see the expression on my face but I don't think it really matters, I think I could have done it with my veil on. Now I just feel relieved that I've said what I've got to say."<br /><br />Earlier, Richards told the court that her religion states she should not remove her veil in front of men in public.<br /><br />The court heard that Mangera attacked Richards, mother to three of the couple's children and pregnant with their fourth, between April 1 and April 30. Sentencing was deferred until Oct 20 to allow a probation report to be produced.</p>