Police & jail misconductDiscrimination & civil rights
Zurich police singled out a Black commuter for an ID check and search, and Swiss courts never examined whether it was racial profiling, Europe's rights court ruled.
Confidence: Confirmed · 2 sourcesZurich · Oct 6, 2026
Subject of this story
Zurich Municipal Police (Stadtpolizei Zürich)
Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland
Also named
Oversight
European Court of Human Rights
What happened
On 20 February 2024 the European Court of Human Rights unanimously found three violations by Switzerland over a 2015 identity check and search by Zurich municipal police at Zurich main railway station. The Court held there was an unrebutted presumption that the check was discriminatory on grounds of skin colour, that the criminal and administrative courts (including the Federal Supreme Court) failed to examine the profiling complaint effectively, and that no effective remedy existed. It noted the absence of a sufficient legal and administrative framework to prevent discriminatory checks and ordered Switzerland to pay 23,975 euros in costs.
Sources (2)
European Court of Human Rights (press release ECHR 045 (2024))A presumption, which the Government had failed to rebut, that the applicant had been subjected to discriminatory treatment.
JURISTSwiss courts failed to adequately address whether racial profiling was at play.
Response
Zurich Municipal Police (Stadtpolizei Zürich)
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Not yet contacted for this story.
Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland
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What happened next (0)
No outcome recorded yet.