The French police were guilty of ethnic profiling in 2011. For example, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) judges Thursday, reports AFP news agency. It is about the case of Karim Touil, a Frenchman of North African descent who was arrested several times in a short time.
Touil was stopped three times within ten days in the center of Besançon, a city in Eastern France. In all cases, the police asked him, without a clear reason, for his proof of identity. During an arrest, Touil was also beaten by an agent. Two of the arrests took place on the same day.
The French State was challenged by a total of six French citizens of (Northern) African descent. All accused the French police of ethnic profiling. Only in Touil’s case was France found guilty, the ECtHR stated that there was not enough evidence in the other five cases.
Compensation
In the case of Touil, France was ultimately found guilty of breach of Article 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights, the prohibition of discrimination. France also brought Article 8, which means that authorities have violated the right to respect for private and family life. The French State therefore owes Touil 3,000 euros for moral damage, the court ruled.
All six cases of ethnic profiling were previously dealt with by French judges in 2011 and 2012, but then the judiciary ruled to the disadvantage of the citizens, writes the French newspaper Le Monde. They then appealed to the ECtHR in 2017.
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