The first time French police informed the Chechen refugee that he was banned from leaving the northeastern city of Strasbourg and that he had to report daily, he didn’t think it was worth contesting the order.
France was in the middle of a major security operation for the Olympics, he explained, and he didn’t think authorities would listen to someone identified as a potential threat because of interactions with people identified as “pro-jihadists.”
But when the Interior Ministry extended the order in late August to help protect a famous Christmas market that was the target of a deadly attack in 2018, the refugee, known to friends as Khaled, appealed to the city’s administrative court.
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A panel of judges concluded that the measures were “disproportionate,” saying in an Oct. 3 ruling obtained by Reutersthat he has no criminal record and was not being investigated for any crime.
Although they maintained the ban on attending the Strasbourg Christmas market, they lifted the other measures. But the decision came too late for the 20-year-old to enroll in college where he was due to begin a cybersecurity course in September, according to evidence presented by his lawyer.
“I lost my place. This year has been wasted,” Khaled told Reuters, speaking on condition that he be identified by his nickname as he fears his academic and professional aspirations would be harmed if it became known that he was being monitored by police.
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has sparked renewed scrutiny in several European countries over security arrangements for seasonal markets, which attract large crowds.
But the French Interior Ministry’s broad use of powers, introduced by a 2017 anti-terrorism law to strictly limit the movements of individuals considered a serious security threat, was already drawing criticism from some lawyers and human rights activists before the attack.
At least 547 people were placed under an “individual administrative control and surveillance measure” for the Paris Olympics, according to a parliamentary report published on December 11, even though some, like Khaled, never faced criminal charges.
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Now, some lawyers and activists are concerned that wider use of these measures, known by the French acronym Micas, could become the norm for other large public events.
The Interior Ministry, which is responsible for police, and the local authority for the Bas-Rhin region, which includes Strasbourg, did not respond to questions about people targeted over the Christmas market.
A Reuters identified at least 12 cases, based on court documents, interviews with lawyers and one of the people involved. At least ten had no terrorism-related convictions, although one person was previously barred from the market.
