In 2015, a Swiss man with Kenyan roots was stopped by the police at Zurich train station and asked for identification. He refused to provide it and was fined CHF 150 for not complying.
What exactly happened or went on in the minds of those involved is unclear. The man who was stopped, a librarian at ETHZ University, believes he was stopped because of his race, a practice known as racial profiling. The police say he was stopped because he was behaving suspiciously, in particular averting his gaze and avoiding them.
Following the incident, the man took his case to Switzerland’s federal court, which decided in favour of the police. This week, the European Court of Human Rights, decided in favour of the Swiss librarian, reported SRF.
There have been other similar news-worthy cases in Zurich. The same year, celebrity footballer Yassine Chikhaoui from Tunisia was thrown to the ground and arrested by police officers on Bahnhofstrasse in Zurich in front of his wife. The officers mistook him for a Tunisian pickpocket they were searching for. In this case also the police were accused by many of racial profiling. Not long after the incident, Chikhaoui left FC Zurich, the club he was playing for.
Switzerland’s constitution makes it illegal to discriminate based on skin colour or other ethnic characteristics – see Article 8 of the Swiss Constitution – making racial profiling a crime.
More on this:
RTS article (in French) – Take a 5 minute French test now
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