ZAD de la Colline, Holcim, Switzerland

In October 2020, activists organized the first ZAD (Zone à Défendre) in Switzerland (ZAD de la Colline du Mormont) in the canton of Vaud. Several hundred people occupied a Holcim opencast mine to protest against open-pit mining for cement production and its impacts on climate and biodiversity. At the end of March 2021, the police evacuated all ZADists and arrested around 145 people. While around 50 were allowed to leave the zone without identity checks and about 25 people could leave after identity checks, approximately 70 people were arrested after having refused to reveal their identities. Most of them underwent identification measures (such as DNA sampling) and body searches. Several individual proceedings followed the evacuation even though Holcim withdrew its complaint. The accused persons who had refused to give their identities were denied their right to oppose the penal order delivered by the Public Ministry and sentenced to unconditional prison terms of two to three months for unlawful entry, prevention of an official act, and contempt of official orders (Arts. 186, 286, 292 CC). On appeal up to the Federal Court, the judges overturned these verdicts and allowed the “unknown” activists to oppose their penal order. In the meantime, some of the unknown activists revealed their identity and successfully opposed their DNA profiling. In the trials of the activists whose identities were known to the authorities all were acquitted in the first instance of the charge of unlawful entry (the prosecution maintained the charge despite Holcim's withdrawal of the complaint). Most of the activists were also acquitted of the charge of contempt of official orders. Several people were convicted of preventing an official act. The public prosecutor's office has appealed against several acquittals and the Cantonal Court has overturned some of them. While some proceedings are still ongoing, most of them are over and executive judgments vary from acquittals to (suspended) fines and day-fines.