German Court Restricts Police Profiling to Find Terrorists
Germany’s highest court on Tuesday ruled that profiling by police and intelligence agencies to identify potential terrorists is illegal if it is based on a mere suspicion without any concrete evidence. In the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, German lawmakers had given considerably more powers to intelligence officers to obtain information, particularly about people with a Muslim background. The were also allowed to employ a nationwide profiling search to flush out so-called sleepers, such as the Sept. 11 attackers, who had lived in Hamburg for years without raising suspicion. Full Story