BERLIN, May 24, 2006 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – Germany's highest court ruled on Tuesday, May 23, that random trawling of databases to identify foreign male Muslim students for potential "terror acts" was illegal except in specific cases of "concrete danger".
"A general threat situation, of the kind that has existed continuously in regard to terrorist attacks since Sept. 11, 2001, or external political tensions, is not sufficient," said the ruling of the Constitutional Court cited by Reuters.
A Moroccan student, whose name has not been disclosed, sued a German state after the 9/11 attacks to stop mining university and government databases to identify Muslim students between the ages of 18 and 40.
German police had begun scanning local authority and university databases to identify foreign Muslim students aged 18 to 40.
The move was introduced after it emerged that three of the 9/11 hijackers had lived and studied in Hamburg.
Since 2001, many world countries have introduced and tightened anti-terror laws and stepped up security measures, drawing fierce criticism from human rights groups.
Stigmatize
The ruling said that police data-trawling of certain types of people could "reinforce prejudices and stigmatize the affected social groups in the perception of the public".
It gave room for exceptions but under strict measures.
"The pre-condition is, rather, the existence of further facts pointing to a concrete danger, such as the preparation or commission of terrorist attacks."
The ruling will force seven of Germany's 16 states to review their police laws.
Justice Minister Brigitte Zypries said on Sunday, May 7, that the Muslim minority in Germany was suffering from a growing religious discrimination with many Germans wrongly associating Islam with terrorism.
A German intelligence report has revealed that only one percent of Germany’s Muslim population are members of organizations that pose serious threats to the country’s national security.
There are some 3.4 million Muslims in Germany, two thirds of whom are of Turkish origin.
Criticized
The court ruling drew criticism from German security officials.
Bavaria's conservative interior minister, Guenther Beckstein, described it as "a black day for the effective combating of terrorism in Germany".
Police union chief Wolfgang Speck also blasted the ruling.
"The police would like someone to explain to them, and above all to the public, how they are supposed to combat international terrorism sensibly and effectively with falling staff numbers and a non-existent legal basis."
President of Germany's domestic intelligence agency, Heinz Fromm, said on Monday, May 22, that about 220,000 people interested in World Cup-related jobs are being screened with methods that at least come very close to profiling searches.
"What I've seen from the results so far doesn't include any major surprises," he said.
"There are a number -- but few -- cases where we'll not allow employment contracts in stadiums or generally in the vicinity of World Cup venues. We may come up with a more detailed report of our search when it's done."
The World Cup is due to begin in Germany next month.
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