The stop and search of a now 26-year-old student from Kassel by federal police officers in December 2010, solely because of his skin color, violates the prohibition of discrimination enshrined in Article 3, Paragraph 3 of the Basic Law. This was the conclusion of a high-profile case before the Higher Administrative Court (OVG) of Rhineland-Palatinate in Koblenz, following oral arguments today. The initial ruling by the Koblenz Administrative Court (VG) of February 28, 2012, which had deemed the stop and search of the young man based on his skin color permissible, was declared entirely invalid. This followed a clear judicial indication by presiding judge Dagmar Wüsch that a stop and search based solely or primarily on skin color violates the prohibition of discrimination. Subsequently, the Federal Police acknowledged the illegality of the questioning and the recording of personal details and apologized to the plaintiff.
“This outcome is a milestone for the legal classification of so-called racial profiling as unlawful. This case has far-reaching implications for the practices of the Federal Police,” said Göttingen-based lawyer Sven Adam, who represents the plaintiff, regarding the success of the proceedings. The plaintiff himself expressed his satisfaction with the outcome: “I am pleased that the decision of the Koblenz Administrative Court has been declared ineffective. We had to fight long and hard to ensure that the Federal Police must also be held accountable for the prohibition of discrimination.”
For further questions, please contact the plaintiff's Göttingen-based lawyer, Sven Adam. Additional statements, documents, and information on this topic can be found on our special page: www.anwaltskanzlei-adam.de/index.php?vg-koblenz
