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Amnesty slams French police

France has been criticised for police violence, maltreatment of refugees and asylum seekers and lax data protection laws in Amnesty International's annual report. The report cites at least one fatal incident involving the police and said investigations into police misconduct seem to lack independence.

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Ali Ziri, a 69-year-old Algerian man, died last June after being arrested. Ziri and a friend were stopped by the police and beaten at the scene and on the way to the police station, according to the friend, Arezki Kerfali.

Kerfali and Ziri were both taken to hospital, where Ziri died. An autopsy found multiple bruises and cited the probable cause of death as positional asphyxiation.

An official investigation lasted a month and concluded that there was insufficient evidence. Kerfali was then charged with insulting a police officer. The police officers involved remained on active service.

In September, the Council of State suspended the use of electro-shock weapons by local police forces.

Amnesty also highlighted refugees and asylum seekers in France. A ministry of immigration ruling last May could restrict the role of six non governmental organisations that are nominated to work in migration detention centres.

And last September, an encampment of migrants and asylum seekers was bulldozed in Calais. Police arrested 140 adults, and 132 children were taken to accommodation centres.

Most of the adults, who are mainly Afghans, were released and returned to their destroyed encampment, where they are living without shelter. There have been several other similar operations.

Three Aghan nationals were forcibly returned to Afghanistan. In December, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that if France were to deport a man convicted of terrorism to Algeria, as it planned, he would be at risk of torture and France would be in violation of the European Convention of Human Rights.

The country's police database includes information of health and sexual orientation. "Concerns remain about the extent of the personal information collected on individuals not convicted of any crime," said Amnesty.

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