MOSCOW, July 10 (RAPSI) - The Prosecutor General's Office has upheld the decision by the Stavropol Territory government to prohibit the wearing of hijabs in schools, a spokesperson said on Wednesday during a Supreme Court hearing of a complaint filed by three local residents.

Their Moscow lawyer Murad Musayev filed a complaint with a territorial court against the government's decision to introduce school uniforms from September 1 this year. When the Stavropol Territorial Court dismissed the case, the lawyer filed an appeal in the Supreme Court.

According to the representative of the Prosecutor General's Office, the Stavropol Territory government's decision to introduce school uniforms "is not a local whim, but was taken in keeping with federal legislation, in particular the law on education, which establishes the secular nature of education in Russia."

The prosecutor said "no one has the right to put pressure on school students to influence their choice in life." She added that the reviewed law on education, which will come into force on the first day of the new academic year, states that school administrations have the right to choose uniforms for their schools.

The territorial government and prosecutor's office have also spoken out against the complaint. Vladimir Molchanov told the court on behalf of the territorial government and the governor that he supports the government's decision and the territorial court's ruling.

"The plaintiffs have not provided sufficient evidence of the alleged violation of their rights in the first and second instance courts," he said. "The decision to allow the schoolgirl who has refused to take off her hijab to undertake school studies externally does not infringe on her rights in any way."