Muslim juror docked for MP3 player under hijab

A Muslim juror who was caught with an MP3 player under her hijab during a British murder trial could herself be facing charges after the judge referred her case to Britain's High Court, press reports said Tuesday.

Ruhela Khanom, 20, was thrown off the jury last month after another juror spotted the wires of her headphones underneath her scarf while a murder suspect was giving evidence.

But Khanom denied listening to music during the trial, telling British newspaper The Sun that her MP3 player was unplugged.

"This is all a great misunderstanding," Khanom said last month, adding that she kept the earphones on to avoid having to keep removing her scarf.

"I would not dare go in a court and listen to music when a man's life decision is concerned…I simply disconnected my MP3 from my earphones. That is it," she said.

According to The Mirror, Judge Aidan Marron said he will refer Khanom's case to the Attorney General at the High Court, to avoid a situation where the charge would have been brought by and tried by the same court.

The jury of 11 at Blackfriars Crown Court, London, convicted pensioner Alan Wicks, 72, of murdering his wife.

The court heard Wicks had bludgeoned his wife to death after 50 years of marriage. He got life.