Strip accents from a string

def strip_accents(s, pass_symbols=(u'й', u'Й', u'\n')):
    """ Strip accents from a string """
    result = []
    for char in s:
        # Pass these symbols without processing
        if char in pass_symbols:
            result.append(char)
            continue
        for c in unicodedata.normalize('NFD', char):
            if unicodedata.category(c) == 'Mn':
                continue
            result.append(c)
    return ''.join(result)