Carnita Williams, Australian Muslim Woman, Pleads Not Guilty In 'Racist' Burka Case

A Muslim woman facing criminal charges in Australia now alleges she is a victim of mistaken identity, given that she was wearing a burka when nabbed by police, the Sydney Morning Herald is reporting.

Carnita Williams, 45, has plead not guilty to knowingly making a false complaint. According to Australia's Daily Telegraph, Williams was charged in June after allegedly falsely claiming that a highway patrol officer handled her in an attempt to see her burka-hidden face during a random breath test.

"I gestured for her to lift her [burka]," Constable Paul Fogarty is quoted by the Herald as saying. "I said I just wanted to verify. I then gestured to her to lift her [burka]."

A police video of the incident shows Williams becoming irate at the suggestion, and accusing Fogarty of being "racist."

Though police reportedly later received a formal complaint from a burka-wearing woman, Williams' attorney Stephen Hopper now says police failed to verify the identity of the person filing the complaint, and as such cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt it was his client who made it.