France extends Olympic security measures to Christmas fairs
Kyiv • UNN
French authorities have applied strict controls imposed for the Olympics to visitors to Christmas fairs. Human rights activists and lawyers have criticized the increased use of administrative surveillance of people without criminal records.
In France extended the security measures of the Olympics to the Christmas market. Human rights activists expressed outrage at such measures, reports UNN citing Reuters.
When the French police first informed the Chechen refugee that he was forbidden to leave the northeastern city of Strasbourg and that he had to check in with them daily, he did not see fit to challenge the order.
He explained that France is in the midst of a massive security operation for the Summer Olympics, and he doesn't think authorities will listen to a man identified as a potential threat because of his interactions with people identified as “jihadist sympathizers.
But when the Home Office extended the order in late August to help protect the famous Christmas market, which was the target of a deadly attack in 2018, the refugee, known to friends as Khaled, appealed to the city's administrative court.
The panel of judges concluded that the measures were “disproportionate,” saying in an Oct. 3 ruling seen by Reuters that he had no criminal record and was not under investigation for any crime.
While they upheld the ban on Strasbourg's Christmas fair, they lifted other measures. But the ruling came too late for the 20-year-old to enroll in college, where he was due to start a cybersecurity course in September, according to evidence presented by his lawyer.
“I have lost my place. This year has been wasted,” Khaled told Reuters, speaking on condition he be referred to by his nickname because he feared his academic and career aspirations would be thwarted if it became known he was being followed by police.
Add
A deadly car attack Friday at a Christmas fair in the German city of Magdeburg has prompted several European countries to renew their focus on security measures at seasonal fairs that draw large crowds.
But the French interior ministry's extensive use of powers introduced under a 2017 anti-terrorism law to severely restrict the movements of individuals deemed a serious security threat had already drawn criticism from some lawyers and human rights activists even before the attack.
At least 547 people were placed under an “individual measure of administrative control and surveillance” for the Paris Olympics, according to a parliamentary report published Dec. 11, though some, like Khaled, never faced criminal charges.
Now some lawyers and activists are concerned that increased use of these measures, known by the French acronym MICAS, could become the norm for other major public events.
The Interior Ministry, which is responsible for the police, and local authorities in the Lower Rhine region, which includes Strasbourg, did not respond to questions about those harassed because of the Christmas fair.
Reuters identified at least 12 cases based on court documents, interviews with lawyers and one of the affected individuals. At least 10 had no terrorism-related convictions, although one person had previously been barred from the market. Reuters could not immediately ascertain those details for the other two.
In the first five years after the anti-terrorism law went into effect on Nov. 1, 2017, the number of MICAS orders issued to NJ residents for any reason did not exceed seven in any 12-month period, according to data provided by the Interior Ministry to Parliament.
