Latest news with #Besancon
Reuters
26-06-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Europe's top rights court rules against France in racial profiling case
PARIS, June 26 (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. ($1 = 0.8542 euros)
Arab News
26-06-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Europe rights court condemns France over racial profiling
STRASBOURG: A top European court on Thursday condemned France for failing to protect the rights of a Frenchman who had accused his country's police of racial profiling. The European Court of Human Rights was unable to determine discrimination in the case of five other French plaintiffs. But it found that the government had provided no 'objective and reasonable justification' for police stopping Karim Touil three times in 10 days in the eastern city of Besancon in 2011. The court said it was 'very aware of the difficulties for police officers to decide, very quickly and without necessarily having clear internal instructions, whether they are facing a threat to public order or security.' But in the case of Touil, it presumed 'discriminatory treatment' that the French government was not able to refute. It ordered the French state to pay him 3,000 euros ($3,500). Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International last year said racial profiling was 'widespread throughout the country and deeply rooted in police practices.' HRW said young men and boys perceived as black or Arab, some as young as 10, were often subjected to 'abusive and illegal identity checks.' The rights groups said they had lodged a complaint with the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. France's rights ombudsman in 2017 found that a young person 'perceived as black or Arab' was 20 times more likely to face an identity check than the rest of the population.
BBC News
14-06-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
GB's Urand claims European Para-triathlon title
British Para-triathlete Henry Urand has added the European title to his world crown with a superb performance in Besancon, who was fourth at the Paris Paralympics in the PTS3 division, finished almost a minute and a half ahead of his closest rival - Paralympic silver medallist Max Gelhaar of 22-year-old was well down the field after the swim but gradually made up ground on the bike leg to contest the then went clear on the run to claim gold in one hour 11 minutes and 41 Mel Nicholls took silver in the women's wheelchair division while Josh Landman was third in the men's wheelchair there was disappointment for Paralympic champions Dave Ellis and guide Luke Pollard after a mechanical problem with their bike ended their men's VI race early.
