European Court condemns France for identity checks of national of African origin

​​​​​​​By Ilayda Cakirtekin

ISTANBUL (AA) - The European Court of Human Rights condemned France on Thursday for appearance-based identity checks of a Frenchman by police.

The court ruled against France in a "racial profiling" case where Karim Touil accused the state after being subject to three police identity checks within 10 days in 2011.

Six French nationals of African and North African origin, including Touil, applied to the court claiming they were subject to police identity checks between 2011 and 2012 -- instances they describe as "stop and search based on appearance.”

While the court did not find evidence of discrimination in the cases of the five other applicants, it ruled that there exists a "presumption of discriminatory treatment" in Touil’s case.

It also found a "violation" of Article 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights, relating to the prohibition of discrimination, in conjunction with Article 8 -- the right to respect private and family life.

The court noted that the French government did not succeed in "rebutting" the "presumption of discriminatory treatment" by failing to provide any "objective and reasonable justification."

It also ordered Paris to pay Touil €3,000 ($3,500).