Europe's top rights court rules against France in racial profiling case

The Star

3 days ago

FILE PHOTO: The building of the European Court of Human Rights is seen in Strasbourg, France, September 11, 2019. REUTERS/Vincent Kessler/ File Photo
PARIS (Reuters) -Europe's top human rights court ruled on Thursday that French police had carried out discriminatory checks on a Frenchman of African descent, the first such verdict in a case of racial profiling brought against France.
The French government "failed to provide objective and reasonable justification" for the police carrying out three identity checks on Karim Touil within the space of 10 days in 2011 in the city centre of Besancon, the Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) said in its ruling.
The court ordered France to pay Touil 3,000 euros ($3,512) for violating articles 14 and 8, on discrimination and the right to a private life, of the European Human Rights Convention.
However, for five other applicants in the case, also young men of African descent, the court found there was no discrimination due to lack of evidence, noting that the ID checks had mostly taken place "against a backdrop of tension".
While welcoming Touil's successful claim, Lanna Hollo, a rights advocate with French organisation RECLAIM, who has been involved in the case for 13 years, said the court's reasoning risked reinforcing discrimination in certain zones.
"It fails to sufficiently protect all people in all parts of the territory - especially those living in France's poorer neighbourhoods with high visible minority populations," she said.
In recent years the court has issued rulings against Germany and Switzerland over discriminatory police checks.
A study published on Tuesday by France's human rights watchdog found that young Black men or those perceived as Arab or North African were four times more likely to be stopped by police and 12 times more likely to undergo "extensive" checks, involving being body-searched or taken to the police station.
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(Reporting by Layli ForoudiEditing by Gareth Jones)