The plaintiff’s lawyer is considering asking the Grand Chamber to review the sentence for the “serious questions” it raises
MADRID, 18 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has concluded that neither the Spanish Justice nor the National Police have discriminated against Zeshan Muhammad, a Pakistani citizen residing in Barcelona who denounced Spain for police identifications based on ethnic profiling, due to his race or ethnicity. which, according to him, he was a victim in 2013.
As reported by the Strasbourg court this Tuesday, the magistrates have agreed –four votes against three– to dismiss the appeal, considering that the plaintiff has not shown that the Police asked him to identify himself by his skin color or that he was carrying out identity checks against citizens of Pakistani origin.
In addition, the ECHR has stressed that the Spanish legal framework includes measures against discrimination based on race or ethnicity and that the complainant has not been able to prove that the courts, the Ministry of the Interior or the Police have discriminated against him.
The lawsuit filed in court argued that stopping a person for prejudice based on skin color violated the right not to be discriminated against and to privacy, included in the European Convention on Human Rights.
The plaintiff was a Pakistani man living in Barcelona since 2005 with a long-term contract and residence permit that allows him to live and work in Spain indefinitely. The man went to Strasbourg for alleged violation of rights after the police approached him in the street in May 2013 to ask for an identity document.
According to the complainant’s version, when he asked the agent if he asked for the documentation because of his skin color, the policeman replied: “Yes, because you’re black, that’s it. I’m not going to stop a German citizen.” The man assured in his appeal that as a result of his protest, the agent “slapped him gently”, put him in the police car, informed him of his arrest and took him to a police station.
The police version is different. He contends that the officers asked the plaintiff to identify himself on the street after he taunted the officers and referred to them using “disrespectful jargon.” The man refused and was taken to the police station, where he showed his identification and was released.
According to the judgment, on the day of the arrest the plaintiff tried to file a complaint against the police officers at two police stations, but was told that they would not accept complaints against other officers. He later filed a document with a court in Barcelona, ??although it was filed immediately.
Later, assisted by the non-governmental organization SOS Racisme Catalunya, he filed an appeal against the suspension of the proceedings and obtained the support of the Prosecutor’s Office. The court upheld the appeal and agreed to charge the agents and investigate the facts. Finally, it was agreed to file the proceedings, which was supported by the Provincial Court of Barcelona. The plaintiff did not file any further appeals, so the file became firm.
On the sidelines, the man filed a complaint with the Ministry of the Interior, from which he claimed 3,000 euros for “humiliation, unjust persecution, exclusion and marginalization.” In 2014, the administrative procedure was discontinued due to lack of evidence of the alleged discrimination. The complainant brought the case before the National High Court and the Constitutional Court.
Before the appeal before the ECHR, the State Attorney defended that “the Spanish legal system provides sufficient protection against discrimination on the grounds of race and ethnic origin, not only in administrative law, but also in the Penal Code.” Now, Strasbourg has agreed with Spain.
The plaintiff’s lawyer, Mercedes Melon, has pointed out in a statement collected by Europa Press that this sentence is a “very serious setback” for the “multiple victims” who trusted Strasbourg to end “police discrimination based on ethnic profiling”.
In his opinion, the Strasbourg court has shown a “lack of understanding” of the damage caused by discriminatory identifications and has misinterpreted the aforementioned European agreement.
His lawyer, a member of the Open Society, has advanced that they are going to study whether they ask the Grand Chamber, the highest instance of the ECHR, to examine the sentence for the “serious questions” it raises.
Similarly, SOS Racisme Catalunya has commented that Strasbourg “obviously unequal conditions” between the litigating parties, “facilitates institutional impunity” and leaves room for “lack of protection” against “racist police practices”.
Meanwhile, the NGO Rights International has assured that the decision of the community court shows that there is “defencelessness”, for which they believe it is “fundamental” to review Spanish laws to guarantee that the investigations are “really” effective and independent.
