Bern Rise Up For Change 2020, Bundesplatz, Bern, Switzerland

In September 2020, several hundred people occupied the main square in front of the parliament (Bundesplatz) in Bern as part of the “Rise Up For Change” action days. After two days, the police evacuated the remaining approximately 200 people, where around 90 people were arrested for several hours. Around 150 people later received a penal order accusing activists of the prevention of an official act (art. 286 Swiss Criminal Code, CC) and contempt of official orders (art. 292 CC), and around 18 people filed a rejection of penal order to enter criminal trial proceedings. While the Bern High court rejected a request to join most of the 18 cases into a collective trial, the Regional court (first instance), declared one of the cases a “pilot” trial, and suspended all other cases until the pilot trial was finished. Despite an open appeal at the court of second instance to join the cases, the court of first instance proceeded with the pilot trial and convicted an activist in line with the criminal charges issued with the penal order (RG BE PEN 21 1011, 12.12.2022). The verdict (and the “pilot” nature of the trial) was appealed by the defendant’s lawyer. Whereas the appeal against the verdict was later withdrawn, the appeal against the “pilot” nature of the trial and the suspension of other cases were successful. To the activists, the “pilot trial” poses a risk of prejudicing their individual cases, thereby undermining their due process rights (Art. 6 ECHR). The appeal was upheld by the second instance (OG BE BK 22 396, 15.3.2023). In a somewhat contradictory decision, the court declared the “pilot” nature of the first case void and overturned the suspension of the other cases, while still refusing to join the cases. One of the defendants appealed against this decision to the Federal Supreme Court which rejected the appeal to join the cases (BG 7N_209/2023, October 11, 2023). The defendant may be appealing to the ECtHR. In the meantime, most of the 18 defendants who initially filed a rejection against the penal order have withdrawn the rejection and thus accepted the criminal charges. A few activists decided to go through the courts to contest their penal orders, and if needed, to take their cases to the ECtHR in Strasbourg. The second and third trial also confirmed the charges of the penal order and convicted the defendant (for second trial, see PEN 22 361, 27.11.2023).