Legal proceedings for climate protests in Switzerland

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Police action on the occasion of the blocking of the Pont Bessières bridge, Lausanne, September 20, 2019

Since 2018 there have been several legal proceedings over climate protests in Switzerland . In the course of the ever broader debate about global warming , various activist groups protested in front of or in buildings of companies, which they described as particularly responsible for greenhouse gas emissions , without authorization . Charges against the protesters came mainly from private companies such as banks.

These legal proceedings are not to be confused with the lawsuits of the Swiss climate seniors , who want to use the courts to ensure that the state fulfills its protective obligations and pursues a climate goal that meets the requirement of preventing dangerous disruption of the climate system.

Trial of the Geneva climate protest on October 13, 2018

In the trial of the Geneva climate protest on October 13, 2018, an environmental activist at the age of 23 was convicted of property damage before the Geneva police court in February 2020. As part of the climate protest on October 13, 2018 in Geneva, he had handprints on a Credit Suisse branch in water-soluble red paint.

On October 13th, several thousand people demonstrated for climate protection in downtown Geneva. A group of around 15 activists from the Breakfree Suisse organization provided the entrance to a Credit Suisse branch with handprints in water-soluble red paint to symbolize the victims of climate change. However, only one of the activists was arrested and sentenced to a fine of 20 daily rates of 30 francs each.

The activist then challenged the verdict. So it came to a process in which he was represented by one of the lawyers who had already represented environmental activists at the trial of the Lausanne climate protest on November 22, 2018 . The defense argued that the chosen approach was the only way to get Credit Suisse's attention, since in the past petitions, requests to speak at general meetings and other funds did not help the big bank to get out of climate-damaging investment projects and To withdraw assets.

At the trial on February 20, 2020, the activist was sentenced to a fine, but due to his modest financial resources, the sentence was reduced to 10 daily rates of 30 francs each. At the same time, he must also bear the procedural costs and the cleaning costs of Credit Suisse of 2250 francs. The activist's lawyer wants to challenge the judgment at the cantonal court.

Process for the Lausanne climate protest on November 22, 2018

In the trial of the Lausanne climate protest on November 22, 2018, 12 environmental activists between the ages of 21 and 34 were acquitted of trespassing charges in January 2020 before the district court in Lausanne . On November 22, 2018, they demonstrated in a Credit Suisse branch in Lausanne against the bank's “environmentally harmful investment policy”.

background

On November 22, 2018, environmental activists demonstrated in Credit Suisse branches in Lausanne, Geneva and Basel . In Lausanne, members of the Lausanne Action Climat (LAC) movement entered the vestibule of the Credit Suisse branch, opened a net and played tennis. You were referring to Roger Federer , who has acted as a brand ambassador for Credit Suisse since 2009. “If Federer only knew that his bank is destroying the climate,” read the banners.

The activists criticized Credit Suisse for helping to finance environmentally harmful projects such as the Dakota Access Pipeline in North America. They denounced the “hypocrisy of a bank that uses the positive reputation of Roger Federer in its campaigns and at the same time pursues an environmentally harmful investment policy”. Credit Suisse then filed a complaint of trespassing and resisting orders from the police.

The public prosecutor's office assessed this as trespassing and in spring 2019 the 12 environmental activists between the ages of 21 and 34 were penalized out of court with conditional fines of 30 daily rates and two years probation. In addition, fines of 400 to 600 francs each were imposed, convertible to 13 to 20 days in prison. The activists were unwilling to take criminal warrants without trial. Thus a process was initiated.

process

The trial took place from January 7th to 9th, 2020 at the District Court of Lausanne. The defendants were represented free of charge by 13 lawyers, some of whom were prominent. Credit Suisse was not present at the trial. The Vaudois public prosecutor's office was also not present at the trial because of the low gravity of the facts. The judgment was passed by the court president and single judge Philippe Colelough and read out on January 13, 2020. Colelough came to the conclusion that the environmental activists had acted on grounds of a "justifying emergency" and that the action was "necessary and appropriate" in view of the climate disaster. The public prosecutor's office has appealed against the decision.

meaning

The action in Lausanne is seen as part of a larger concept of climate youth. Roger Federer should be put under even more pressure. The day before the trial in Lausanne, he had spoken out and expressed "great respect and admiration for the youth climate movement". The activists want more, however: "Our goal is that he publicly calls on the CS to change their investment policy," says Olivier de Marcellus from the Geneva collective Break Free. "And that he will break off his relationship with CS if she doesn't."

Reactions

The judgment of the District Court of Lausanne triggered a lot of media coverage and legal discussions. The procedure was exaggerated as the “first climate process against the Swiss financial center”. The Neue Zürcher Zeitung described the decision in a commentary as a "historic judgment". Not only Swiss media reported on the verdict, German and international newspapers reported.

In Switzerland, the criminal law professor Marcel Niggli spoke up , saying that “the judge did not pursue the law, but politics” and: “Unfortunately, there is a tendency for the judiciary to increasingly advocate what is good instead of what is right. »

Other criminal law experts sharply criticized the judgment. In a briefing of the verdict, Andrés Payer came to the conclusion that the verdict “does not stand up to closer examination”. On the other hand, "the reason for exemption from punishment of the lack of need for punishment (Art. 52 StGB) is applicable".

Upcoming processes

Protest on July 8, 2019 in Zurich and Basel

On July 8, 2019, climate activists protested in front of the entrances to Credit Suisse branches in Zurich and Basel. The police arrested 64 activists in Zurich. They were punished with a fine for coercion and partly for trespassing. Most arrests lasted less than 48 hours. In two cases, requests for pre- trial detention were filed and arrests lasted longer. 19 activists were arrested in Basel. The public prosecutor's office in Basel has initiated criminal proceedings on suspicion of coercion , breach of the peace , damage to property , trespassing and preventing an official act.

Protest on September 20, 2019 in Lausanne

Blocking of the Pont Bessières bridge, Lausanne, September 20, 2019

On September 20, 2019, around 200 activists blocked the Pont Bessières bridge in Lausanne . The public prosecutor of the canton of Vaud issued 117 penal orders.

Objections to penalty orders

Most of these penal orders are fast-track proceedings without a hearing. Most activists therefore systematically object to the penal orders in order to address ethical questions in connection with the actions in public processes.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ KlimaSeniorinnen: KlimaSeniorinnen. Retrieved April 26, 2020 .
  2. ↑ KlimaSeniorinnen .: Why we complain. Retrieved April 26, 2020 .
  3. ↑ a b Antonio Fumagalli: Just weeks after the sensational acquittal: Climate activists and the CS see each other again in court. February 14, 2020, accessed April 26, 2020 .
  4. ↑ a b Swissinfo: https://www.swissinfo.ch/fre/le-tribunal-de-police-de-gen%C3%A8ve-condamne-un-activiste-pro-climat/45570524. February 20, 2020, accessed April 26, 2020 (French).
  5. ↑ SRF: Geneva takes harder action against climate activists than Vaud. February 21, 2020, accessed April 26, 2020 .
  6. ↑ telebasel: Federer doubles play political tennis match . November 22, 2018, accessed January 16, 2020 .
  7. ^ Roman Fillinger, Benedikt Widmer: What you need to know about the oil pipeline in North Dakota. SRF, February 8, 2017, accessed on January 16, 2020 .
  8. ↑ a b NZZ: Twelve climate activists are on trial in Vaud. January 7, 2020, accessed January 16, 2020 .
  9. ↑ LAC - Lausanne Action Climat: Les advocats. Retrieved January 16, 2020 (French).
  10. ↑ Tages-Anzeiger: Trial against climate activists in Lausanne. January 7, 2020, accessed January 16, 2020 .
  11. ^ SRF: Twelve climate activists acquitted. January 13, 2020, accessed January 16, 2020 .
  12. ^ SRF: Appeal after acquittal for climate activists from Vaud. January 14, 2020, accessed January 16, 2020 .
  13. ↑ Bad news for the climate activists: Public prosecutor appeals against acquittal. In: watson.ch. January 14, 2020, accessed January 16, 2020 .
  14. ↑ After Shitstorm: Roger Federer thanks Klimajugend and wants to seek dialogue with his sponsors. In: Luzerner Zeitung , January 11, 2020
  15. ↑ Roger Federer wants to turn the climate youth into a climate hero - if he gets Credit Suisse to rethink. In: Luzerner Zeitung , January 18, 2020
  16. ↑ Credit Suisse: Climate Trial against the Financial Center. In: untergrund-blättle.ch, January 13, 2020
  17. ↑ Antonio Fumagalli, Renens: Historical judgment: 6-0 for the climate youth against the CS . In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung . ( nzz.ch [accessed on January 16, 2020]).
  18. ^ Court Clears Environment Protesters Over Stunt at Swiss Bank. Article by The Associated Press , New York Times January 13, 2020
  19. ↑ Climate protesters in Lausanne acquitted. In: eurotopics.net, January 15, 2020
  20. ^ Criminal lawyer Niggli criticizes acquittal for climate activists. In: Luzerner Zeitung , January 18, 2020
  21. ↑ Why experts hold their heads after the climate activists have been acquitted. watson.ch, January 15, 2020.
  22. ↑ «That would lead to chaos» - why the Vaudois judgment is difficult to understand for criminal law experts. NZZ.ch, January 14, 2020.
  23. ↑ Andrés Payer: Climate change as a criminal emergency: At the same time discussion of the judgment of the District Court of Lausanne PE19.000742 / PCL / llb of January 13, 2020. Accessed on June 16, 2020 .
  24. ↑ SRF: Basel and Zurich climate activists at large again. July 10, 2019, accessed April 26, 2020 .
  25. ↑ a b Luzerner Zeitung: Hundreds of punitive orders against climate activists - but they want public trials. January 27, 2020, accessed April 26, 2020 .