France has carried out abusive and discriminatory raids and house arrests against Muslims
France has carried out abusive and discriminatory raids and house arrests against Muslims under its current state of emergency, traumatizing and stigmatizing those targeted, including children and the elderly, human rights groups said. Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International published separate researches, pointing to cases where excessive force had been used, leading to human rights violations including violence. Those targeted said the police burst into homes, restaurants, or mosques; broke people’s belongings; threw Qur’ans on the floor; terrified children; and placed restrictions on people’s movements so severely that they lost jobs and income, or suffered physically. The raids were launched on November 14 in response to attacks in Paris a day earlier that left 130 people dead, and were later claimed by the ISIS group. ISIS’ claim triggered a backlash not just in France, but also across Europe and elsewhere as Muslim communities were collectively “punished”.
