Amnesty accuses Spanish police of racial profiling

meet quotas imposed for identity checks and detentions, meaning officers frequently single out people who are not white.
In a new report, the human rights group said some police stations in Madrid have weekly and monthly quotas for ID checks and detentions of immigrants not carrying residency papers or work permits, encouraging officers to target people belonging to ethnic minorities, even if they are living legally in Spain as residents or are citizens.
“People who do not ‘look Spanish’ can be stopped by police as often as four times a day,” said Izza Leghtas, the Amnesty researcher who investigated and wrote the Spain report.
The group said African and Latin American immigrants – both legal and illegal – are most frequently targeted by officers who demand their IDs in neighborhoods with heavy immigrant populations, on public transportation and in parks.
A spokeswoman for the Interior Ministry yesterday rejected the allegations, in line with denials that have been repeatedly issued by top Spanish officials in the past. She spoke on condition of anonymity because of department policy.
Amnesty said that under Spanish law police can check the identity of people in public places when there is a security concern. The group’s research, however, revealed that deliberate identity checks on foreigners without any security concern is widespread.
“It is not only discriminatory and illegal – it also fuels prejudice – as those who witness such stops presume the victims to be engaged in criminal activities,” said Leghtas.
Spain has more than 5 million foreign nationals, making up some 12 percent of the population. About half are European Union citizens while Moroccans, Ecuadoreans and Colombians form the largest groups of non-EU nationals.
And legal immigrants are often caught up in the sweeps, Amnesty said.
“Looking like a South American isn’t a crime,” said Miguel Angel Calderon, the group’s Spain spokesman. “They have the right to go out and buy bread and take their children to school without being scared they’ll be stopped.” – AP.