Civil rights lawyers have asked a federal judge to appoint an independent monitor to review the New York Police Department’s counterterrorism efforts. The lawyers said the police’s tactics have placed Muslim communities under surveillance in violation of longstanding federal court guidelines.

In papers filed on Monday in Federal District Court in Manhattan, the lawyers claimed that in searching for potential terrorists, the department’s Intelligence Division has infiltrated Muslim institutions, including mosques, student associations and cafes, and retained records of what police officers and informers overheard in such locations.

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