The cost of wearing a keffiyeh in France: Arrest, strip search, deportation

What exactly is a keffiyeh? Is it merely a traditional Middle-Eastern scarf, a symbol of Palestinian resistance, a perceived threat to Jewish communities, or a conspicuous target for hate crimes?

Depending on the context, wearing a keffiyeh may signify all.

In France, for instance, donning this cultural garment is viewed by the government as a potential threat to its Jewish citizens.

As Farid Hamrat, a 48-year-old language teacher and permaculture enthusiast, found out to his utter surprise and dismay.

He was wearing his keffiyeh on a trip to Paris last month, where he was scheduled to volunteer at an organic farming exhibition called Salon Marjolaine.

But things didn't go as planned.

The day after landing in Paris, he stepped out of his accommodation wearing his keffiyeh and attempted to hail a taxi to reach the exhibition venue. Only to find two heavily-armed policemen approaching him.

"If I made the wrong move, they would have…they would have shot me," Farid recalls those moments in an interview with TRT World.

After he was frisked for concealed weapons, the policemen asked for his ID and address and then, without any explanation, handcuffed and escorted him to the nearest police station.

It was the beginning of a long ordeal for Farid.

He was arrested the same night and subjected to a humiliating strip search. The following day, when he was supposed to be released, he was transferred to a detention centre to await trial and eventual deportation, a move his lawyer deems blatantly illegal.

He spent three more nights in custody at the Centre de Rétention Administrative in Palaiseau, missing his scheduled flight on November 14.

Later, he learned that he was reported by two French Jewish citizens who described him as being "weirdly dressed", resulting in his arrest for being a "threat to public peace".

"It took me hours, if not a day or so, to understand what they meant by 'weirdly dressed' because I was dressed normally, like any French person would. But I had this (the keffiyeh)," he adds.

With his passport confiscated, Farid is now stuck in France for an undetermined period.

France's take on Palestine

So, the question arises: when did wearing a keffiyeh become a "threat to public peace"?

The answer lies in the French government's stance on the Israel-Palestine issue.

Since the Israeli assault on Gaza began on October 7, the Palestinian resistance against Israeli occupation and growing global support for the Palestinian cause have been extensively discussed in French society through the lens of anti-Semitism.

"In France, anti-Semitism is used to depoliticise the conflict, presenting it as though Palestinians were fighting the Zionist regime out of religious hatred," says Rayan Freschi, a legal jurist in France and a researcher at the British-based human rights organisation CAGE International.

"After October 7, most political parties—including the far-right and the ruling coalition—marched in the streets of Paris 'for the Republic and against anti-Semitism', a frame used to depoliticise the conflict in Palestine," he adds.

While permitting a march against anti-Semitism, the French government prohibited all pro-Palestinian protests, with French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin justifying this decision by citing concerns about public order.

Darmanin also urged the police to safeguard locations visited by French Jews, such as synagogues and schools, and said any foreigner engaging in acts of anti-Semitism on French soil would be "immediately expelled".

The same French government appears to turn a blind eye when it comes to protecting another religious community, namely Muslims, going so far as to target them directly.

In November, the French Muslim Council reported that they had received 42 letters containing threats or insults. Mosques were also targetted, with 17 receiving threatening letters and 14 being vandalised since October 7.

However, these incidents have largely gone unreported, according to council vice president Abdallah Zekri, who cited a reluctance among Muslims to file complaints.

"The vast majority of Muslims do not file a complaint when they are victims of such acts. Even the heads of mosques don't want to. They don't want to spend two hours or more in a police station to file a complaint that, in the end, will often be dismissed," Zekri explained.

The French Muslim community appears to lack faith in the ability of the French police to protect them, as the police itself is perceived to be complicit in displaying racist and Islamophobic attitudes towards its Muslim citizens.

This sentiment became particularly evident in the brutal police killing of 16-year-old Nahel Merzouk, a French Algerian youth, exposing the deep-rooted history of systemic Islamophobia and racism within the French police force.

Farid's case in detail

The harrowing details of Farid's case vividly illustrate the unjust and illegal actions taken by French police, transforming his stay in Paris into a nightmarish ordeal solely because of his Muslim identity.

Farid was initially accused of "looking at a synagogue". However, the chief of police later altered the charge, now stating that Farid was carrying a multi-purpose tool resembling a Swiss army knife, classifying it as a potentially dangerous item.

Despite Farid's explanation about its utility for work, authorities decided to detain him overnight, postponing further discussions until the morning. During his night in custody, he underwent a degrading strip search and was photographed.

"They start asking me to take my clothes off. Every time they asked me to remove a piece of clothing, I prayed that it would be the last request. My hat, my glasses, my top."

"Then they left me with only my underwear,"

Police also took photographs of his body from various angles, a process Farid found intensely humiliating.

The following morning, as French police were poised to release him, a higher order from the regional "prefecture" compelled them—despite the police chief's objections to its illegality—to transfer him to a detention centre for trial.

The lawyer adds that this unjust action has unlawfully kept him on French soil, contradicting the UK-France alliances that permit UK citizens to stay in French territory without visas for up to three months.

During his stay at the facility, Farid endured significant hunger, resulting in a weight loss of 7 kilograms over four days.

Compounded by the confiscation of his electronic devices, he could not notify his students and teaching company, putting his job at risk during his probationary period. Additionally, his permaculture activities face potential financial setbacks, as he couldn't return to Amman to prepare for a related project in December.

On November 16, Farid appeared before a judge at the High Court of Evry. The judge swiftly determined that there were no grounds for his arrest or detention.

Consequently, he was released on November 17.

However, matters took a more complex turn as he approached the final steps to retrieve his passport and depart the country.

As he headed to obtain his passport, his lawyer advised against it, cautioning him, "My lawyer said don't bother. Why? Because if you go to get your passport, they will get you to sign a piece of paper indicating that I've committed something wrong, something either illegal or disruptive to public order, but without clarity."

Resolutely, he declined to sign the document required for his passport, opting for the only available recourse: approaching the administrative court. However, a hearing date is yet to be scheduled.

"The administrative court, which only has jurisdiction over the obligation to leave the country, has not yet given a ruling. We haven't yet been given a hearing date." his lawyer Laure Berbe tells TRT World.

"The situation is therefore rather paradoxical: Hamrat, who was due to leave France nearly a month ago, is stuck in France while the administrative procedure takes place."

Farid believes that how the French police detained him and placed him under custody was neither fair nor legal. It seems they aim to quietly close the case without drawing attention, which is evident in their delay in providing a hearing date and their insistence on pressuring him to sign the required document for his passport.

"They want to keep me here under financial pressure because, typically, most people would be working in an office and have a family to return to. In such a situation, they must sign the document and leave the country. I'm not going to do that. I'll stay as long as they want me to."