France’s highest court will rule for the first time on the cases of 13 black and Arab men who claim they were victims of unjustified identity checks based on racial profiling.
The Cour de Cassation is expected Wednesday to set more specific rules for ID checks in France, a key source of tension between police and minority youth in poor suburbs.
The prosecutor has asked the judges to declare only eight of the 13 cases illegal, saying the five others appeared to be based on “objective elements” and therefore not discriminatory.
The lawyer for the 13 men has said all the checks in 2011 and 2012 violated the basic rights of his clients.
French police consider checks as an important to fighting crime and the treat of terror attacks.
