NEW YORK: The New York Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit yesterday against the New York Police Department over its surveillance of Muslim communities, accusing the police of trampling on religious freedoms and constitutional guarantees of equality.
The surveillance by the NYPD’s intelligence division has extended beyond New York City’s five boroughs into neighboring New Jersey and other nearby states. The lawsuit is the latest skirmish in an ongoing battle between the NYPD and civil liberties advocates over the department’s aggressive policing tactics — including its stop-and-frisk practices, which are the subject of a separate federal lawsuit. The lawsuit, filed in US District Court for the Eastern District of New York, in Brooklyn, seeks to put an end to the NYPD’s surveillance of Muslims and the destruction of all records on individuals created as a result of the programme. REUTERS
