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The first time French police informed the Chechen refugee that he was prohibited from leaving the northeastern city of Strasbourg and must check in with them daily, he did not think it worth contesting the order. France was in the midst of a massive security operation for the summer Olympic Games, he explained, and he did not think authorities would listen to someone identified as a potential threat because of interactions with people identified as “pro-Jihadist”. But when the ministry of interior extended the order in late August to help protect a famed 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. A panel of judges concluded the measures were “disproportionate”, saying in an October 3 decision seen by Reuters that he has no criminal record and was not under investigation for any crime. While they kept in place a prohibition on attending the Strasbourg Christmas market, they lifted the other measures. But the ruling came too late for the 20-year-old to enrol in a college where he was due to start a cybersecurity course in September, according to evidence submitted by his lawyer. “I lost my place. This year has gone to waste,” Khaled told Reuters, speaking on condition that he be identified by the nickname, because he fears his academic and career aspirations would be derailed if it becomes known he is being monitored by police. Friday's deadly car-ramming attack at a Christmas market in the German city of Magdeburg has prompted renewed scrutiny in a number of European countries of security arrangements for the seasonal markets, which draw large crowds. But the French interior ministry's broad use of powers introduced under a 2017 anti-terror law to strictly limit the movements of individuals deemed a serious security threat was already drawing criticism from some lawyers and human rights activists before the attack. At least 547 such orders were issued against people for the Paris Olympics, according to a parliamentary report published on December 11, even though some, like Khaled, had never faced criminal charges. Now, some lawyers and activists are concerned that the wider use of these orders, known as an “individual measure of administrative control and surveillance” or by the French acronym MICAS, could become the norm for other major public events. The interior ministry, which is in charge of police, and the local authority for the Bas-Rhin region, which includes Strasbourg, did not answer questions about those targeted because of the Christmas market. Reuters has identified at least 12 cases, based on court documents, interviews with lawyers and one of the people concerned. At least 10 had no terror-related convictions, though one person had been barred from the market before. Reuters could not immediately determine those details for the other two. In the first five years after the anti-terror law took effect on November 1, 2017, the number of MICAS orders issued for any reason in Bas-Rhin did not exceed seven in any 12-month period, according to figures provided by the interior ministry to parliament. Courts nationally have cancelled or suspended at least 57 of this year's Olympics and Christmas market-related orders, according to the December parliamentary report and a Reuters review of appeals filed with the Strasbourg court. “The Olympics were a MICAS free-for-all, and so now I have the impression that the interior ministry is sort of unrestrained for any event that attracts hundreds of thousands,” said David Poinsignon, a lawyer representing four people hit with MICAS orders for the games, two of whom had them extended for the Christmas market. He is especially worried about cases involving people with no terrorism-related convictions, saying: “It has almost become an instrument of predictive justice.” Ben Saul, UN special rapporteur on counter-terrorism and human rights, said France should use MICAS orders sparingly, “to address a credible risk of terrorism where less intrusive means would not be sufficient.” “Since they may be imposed without the robust fair trial safeguards of a criminal trial, there is a greater risk of abuse, arbitrariness or discrimination,” he told Reuters. The interior ministry did not comment. Former interior minister Gerald Darmanin said in July that the measures were only being used for people he described as “very dangerous” and potentially able to carry out attacks. TOUGHER SECURITY LAWS The introduction of MICAS orders was part of a steady toughening of French security laws over the past decade as President Emmanuel Macron's government responded to deadly attacks and a growing political threat from the far-right. Until recently, the measures were mainly used to monitor people after prison sentences. Reuters could not obtain data for last year. But former inmates accounted for 79% of the 136 MICAS orders issued in the year ending in October 2022, according to figures from an unpublished interior ministry report, which was submitted to parliament in 2023 and verified by two sources. An intelligence source, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss security matters, said in November that MICAS orders had proven effective during the Olympics, and authorities would take the same no-risk approach towards those who might target Christmas markets. A tradition dating back to the Middle Ages, many towns host the festive markets, which feature stalls offering gifts, decorations and treats such as pretzels and mulled wine. The one in Strasbourg is France’s oldest and biggest, attracting some 3-million visitors last year. In 2018, a gunman opened fire there, killing five people and wounding 11 others. The assailant was on a security watch list and had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State militant group. The suspect in the Magdeburg attack, which killed at least five people and injured scores, is a 50-year-old psychiatrist from Saudi Arabia who has lived in Germany for nearly two decades. The motive remains unclear. Investigators are probing the suspect's criticism of the treatment of Saudi refugees in Germany, among other things. He also has a history of anti-Islamic rhetoric and has voiced support on social media platform X for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. RISE IN APPEALS As French authorities have expanded their use of MICAS orders, they have faced more successful court challenges. As of November, judges across the country had cancelled or suspended 50 Olympics-related MICAS orders, about 9%, according to the parliamentary report. That was “often because of insufficient evidence of a threat” in the intelligence reports used to justify the measures, it said. There have also been at least seven successful appeals against measures issued for the Christmas market, according to lawyers and records from the Strasbourg court. In the first five years after MICAS orders were introduced, 13 out of 1,203 orders, 1%, were successfully appealed, according to the interior ministry's 2023 report. Nicolas Klausser, a legal scholar from France's National Centre for Scientific Research who studies MICAS cases, said the increase could be partly a product of the growing number of appeals, but the widening profile of those targeted was likely a significant factor. They include people who may know someone with a terrorism-related conviction, or who made statements about Israel's war in Gaza described by authorities as an “apology for terrorism”, but who do not have criminal records themselves, Klausser said. In Khaled's case, intelligence reports reviewed by Reuters said he spent time with a person convicted of associating with a group planning a terrorist act and another convicted of “apology for terrorism”. Khaled said these were people he knew from the neighbourhood where he grew up or a gym he frequents, but he was not close with either of them. The reports also allege relations with other people described as “pro-Jihadist”. Khaled said these were also mostly neighbourhood acquaintances. Three were friends for a time, but they did not discuss violent extremism, he said. In one instance, Khaled is said to have told a friend that a “dirty trick was being prepared, and he was going to be frankly delighted”. The conversation took place on the eve of the 2020 assassination of a French secondary schoolteacher who showed his pupils caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad during a class on free speech, according to the intelligence reports. Khaled denies he said that. The conversation was about a wedding, he told Reuters, not the assassination of Samuel Paty. His lawyer, Lucie Simon, dismissed the purported remark as “nonsense,” saying no evidence was provided in the intelligence notes, and no charges were brought against her client in connection with the killing. The interior ministry did not comment. Its representatives have said at hearings for other cases that details in the intelligence notes are intentionally vague to protect sources. Khaled said he was shocked and worried when he learnt from a news report that the attack was carried out by a teenager of Chechen origin. “It's the community that's going to pay,” he recalled thinking. On December 6, the interior ministry extended his MICAS order a third time. He appealed, and the court informed his lawyer on Tuesday that it had cancelled the order. News and promos in your inbox"Sclerotic gerontocracy": Lawmaker's struggle with dementia revives criticism of elderly politicians'They are a threat': Cherries face Palace in 'best form of the season': Iraola
Concerns about the unprofessional conduct of police officers over the years have led to worrisome levels of distrust between the people and the Nigerian Police Force (NPF). Established in 1943, the NPF has the constitutional and statutory mandate of maintaining and securing public safety, law, and order in Nigeria. However, corruption, poor funding, and inadequate training impede the NPF’s capacity to discharge these roles efficiently and professionally. Over the years, declining investigative capacity and efficiency, and an uptick in policing abuses have eroded public trust in the police. Professionalism is the cornerstone for effective policing, and it serves as the foundation for winning public trust, ensuring efficiency in law enforcement, and complementing the protection of human rights. Public frustration over police abuses boiled over in October 2020 when Nigerian youths, under the #EndSARS movement, demanded the scrapping of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), a special unit of the Police that had become notorious for unlawful arrests and detention, torture, and extralegal killings. They also demanded wholesale reform of the Nigerian Police Force. The #EndSARS protest could be summed up in one brief statement: professionalize the police force. SARS was dissolved. In its place, the Anti-Violence Unit was created. But more importantly, a collaboration between the NPF and the Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption (RoLAC) Programme emerged. This collaboration focuses on instating policy and practice changes, such as the Standards of Practice (SOPs) that lay down human rights-compliant policing procedures, as well as on training police officers to uphold human rights. In addition to this, the NPF tried to strengthen their internal disciplinary processes by ensuring that citizens’ complaints received via the Police Complaints Response Unit were more interactive and receptive, and by conducting proper investigations of all complaints, which has led to the dismissal and demotion of several erring officers. A typical instance of instilling discipline in the force is the dismissal of three policemen from Special Protection Unit (SPU) Base 1, Kano, over the misuse of firearms in 2023. To further deepen these reforms and help improve the performance of the NPF, the Nigeria Police Act of 2020 was enacted. The Act, which was passed and signed into law on 16th September 2020, seeks to provide and promote effectiveness, competence, transparency, and accountability in the police force. The Act adequately provides for the structure of the force, appointments, promotions, and discipline, all of which are pivotal to fostering a professional and accountable police service. While the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, is working to rebuild trust through transparency, accountability, and community engagement, the general public, civil societies, and the media must actively play their watchdog roles for the NPF. They need to ensure objectivity in reporting police activities accurately and fairly, highlighting both successes and failures. The role of investigative journalism in exposing police misconduct cannot be overstated, as it often catalyzes reforms. The private sector and donor agencies should strengthen their collaboration with the NPF. It is also pertinent that the Federal Government takes a second look at the remuneration of officers and men of the Nigeria Police. A pay rise with fringe benefits, as well as prioritizing funding to the force, should be considered and given swift attention. Also, depoliticizing the police by enforcing political neutrality and conducting regular and sustainable training will equip officers with modern policing skills while underscoring the protection of human rights and ethical conduct, and strengthening accountability mechanisms. Professionalism in policing is not just an ideal but a necessity for ensuring the safety, security, and human rights of every Nigerian. It is important to sustain these reforms. They are necessary to create the professional police force that Nigerians desire. The private sector and donor agencies should strengthen their support and partnership with the NPF. It is also pertinent that the Federal Government takes a second look at the remuneration of officers and personnel of the Nigeria Police. A pay rise, improved fringe benefits, and adequate funding to the police should be prioritized and given swift attention. Urgent, sustained efforts to implement this reform will be key to transforming the Nigerian Police Force into a competent, trusted, and effective institution. Akpan is the Communication Assistant, International IDEA Disclaimer: Opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the institutional position of International IDEA, its Board of Advisers, or its Council of Member States.
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