Police enforcing coronavirus lockdowns in 12 European countries have disproportionately targeted ethnic minorities and marginalized groups with violence and abuse of power, according to a report published Wednesday by Amnesty International.
Citing evidence from both EU and neighbouring countries, the report argues that police enforcement impacted poorer neighborhoods and those with higher shares of ethnic minorities more than others.
For example, “in Seine-Saint-Denis, the poorest area of mainland France where the majority of inhabitants are Black or of North African origin, the number of fines for breaching the lockdown was three times higher than in the rest of the country, despite local authorities stating that respect for lockdown measures was similar to other areas,” it said.
Meanwhile in the U.K., between March and April, there was a 22 percent rise in stop and search by London police. In that time, the proportion of black people searched rose by a third.
Videos from Spain and France also showed police officers beating people of North African descent, the report said. Two officers in France were suspended after it became clear they had beaten and insulted a man.
“Police violence and concerns about institutional racism are not new, but the COVID-19 pandemic and coercive enforcement of the resulting lockdowns have exposed just how prevalent they are,” said Marco Perolini, a researcher at Amnesty International.
According to the report, overly forceful action against Roma and other traveler groups is also a problem.
During coronavirus quarantines in Bulgaria, more than 50,000 Roma were “cut off from the rest of the country and suffered severe food shortages,” it said, adding that their median income went down by 61 percent between March and May.
Moreover, in Serbia, Cyprus, Germany, France and Greece, incidents were reported where asylum-seekers were treated differently or unfairly.
“The state must stop imposing discriminatory quarantines on and forcibly evicting Roma, refugees and migrants from informal settlements and camps. They must instead safeguard the right to housing and health of everyone,” said Barbora Černušáková, an expert for Eastern Europe at Amnesty International.