
By Mahajoth Singh | Letter to Editor |
On 12 March 2024, after attending the Fundamental Rights Forum 2024 held at Vienna, Austria, I rushed to the Vienna International Airport, to catch my flight to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, Netherlands to attend a course organized by the Institute For International Legal and Advocacy Training (IILAT) at the ICC, The Hague, Netherlands.
As soon as I placed my bag on the tray, at the security checkpoint, I was informed by a security officer (“officer 1”) that I was to be subjected to an Explosives Trace Detection (ETD) test (“litmus test”), because I wore a turban.
Needless to say, I was shocked beyond belief as at this point, I had not even passed the Advance Imaging Technology (“AIT”) scanner. I repeatedly asked officer 1 for the reason or cause for such test to be conducted and further requested to be shown the purported law empowering officer 1 such rights. Officer 1 refused and repeatedly said that because I wore a turban, it is the law and after performing the litmus test, I will be shown the purported law.
The litmus test was then carried out in the presence of many others at the security checkpoint. It was humiliating. I was not brought into a separate room or cabin. I was singled out simply because I wore a turban. I was only asked to pass the AIT scanner after the litmus test was conducted. It is point worthy to note that the AIT scanner did not beep.
Thereafter, I was passed on to a different officer (“officer 2”) who was also unable to show me any such ‘law’ and instead told to write an email to the Security Ombudsman Service (“SOS”) to request for the purported law. Officer 2 further told me that the purported law is an ‘internal document’ and hence was precluded to show it to me.
Dissatisfied and acting on the advice of officer 2, I sent an email to the SOS on 15.03.2024, detailing the incident and requesting for the purported law. I received a reply on 19.03.2024.
In sum, the SOS confirmed the following:
– a. that the Austrian Ministry of the Interior is responsible for the security company that does the security check;
b. that the purported law relied upon has not been made public; and
c. that the check should have been carried out in a cabin.
SOS’s response is baffling and unacceptable. How is it possible for the security officers to rely on a purported law that has not been made public? What is this secret ‘law’? Even during the era of the Magna Carta, the law was known by all.
An Explosive Trace Detection (ETD) equipment may only be used as a supplementary means of screening as confirmed by Vienna Airport’s own document at page 15 wherein, it clearly states “when an alarm occurs…special paper strips can also be used to check for traces of explosives…”.
It is unfathomable that in 2024, a turban wearing Sikh is subjected to such discriminatory practices. I am unable to imagine what my fellow Sikh brothers and sisters that wear the turban or any kind of headgear face.
Until or unless the above is clarified and the purported law is shown to me, I take the position that the said incident was discriminatory, unlawful and in clear breach of Articles 9 and 14 of the European Convention of Human Rights.
At this juncture, I must also state that the irony of this incident is that Article 15 of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, which was declared during the World Human Rights Conference at Vienna in 1993, referred to racial discrimination as an evil. For sake of completeness, Article 15 reads “Respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms without distinction of any kind is a fundamental rule of international human rights law. The speedy and comprehensive elimination of all forms of racism and racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance is a priority task for the international community. Governments should take effective measures to prevent and combat them. Groups, institutions, intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations and individuals are urged to intensify their efforts in cooperating and coordinating their activities against these evils”
Premised on the above, I demand an apology from the Ministry of The Interior, Austria and Vienna International Airport and further demand that the secret ‘law’ be made public immediately.
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