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CRIME

Case dropped against second Swiss man over Vienna attack ‘links’

Swiss prosecutors said Thursday they had dropped the case against a second Swiss man over alleged links to a deadly shooting rampage in Vienna due to a lack of evidence.

Published: 3 February 2022 19:16 CET
Armed police officers stand guard before the arrival of Austrian Chancellor Kurz and President of the European Council to pay respects to the victims of the recent terrorist attack in Vienna, Austria on November 9,2020. (Photo by JOE KLAMAR / AFP)
Armed police officers stand guard by the area where the terrorist attack took place in Vienna, Austria on November, 2020. (Photo by JOE KLAMAR / AFP)

The Office of the Attorney General (OAG), which last month decided to drop the case against one suspect, told AFP it had issued a discontinuation order in the case against a second man.

On November 2, 2020, convicted Islamic State sympathiser Kujtim Fejzulai killed four people in Vienna before being shot dead by police.

It was the first major attack in Austria in decades and the first blamed on a jihadist.

Two Swiss citizens who knew Fejzulai were arrested in the northeastern Swiss town of Winterthur just a day after the attack on suspicion they may have helped in its preparation.

‘How was it possible?’ Austrians left asking painful questions after Vienna terror shootings

The two, who were aged 18 and 24 at the time, were known to the police and were the targets of prior criminal cases over terror-linked offences.

The OAG acknowledged Thursday that no evidence had emerged that either man had participated in any way or had prior knowledge of the attack.

The older of the two men was meanwhile hit with a penalty in a separate case with no links to the Vienna file, the OAG said.

The penalty order, seen by Swiss media, indicated that he had been found guilty of violating Switzerland’s law banning Al-Qaeda, Islamic State and related organisations and of being in possession of “depictions of violence”.

According to the ATS news agency, an IS group video was found on his phone depicting people being executed and decapitated.

He was handed a six-month suspended prison sentence, a fine of 1,000 Swiss francs ($1,100, 950 euros), and three years’ probation, ATS said.

ANALYSIS: Vienna terror attack was ‘only a matter of time’

In light of this penalty, he would not be compensated for the 176 days he spent behind bars after his arrest following the Vienna attack, it added.

The OAG said a separate case was still pending against the younger of the two men, also on suspicion he breached the Swiss law banning Al-Qaeda, IS and related organisations, and over “allegations of depictions of violence”. “The presumption of innocence applies,” it stressed.

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PROTESTS

How free are people to protest in Switzerland?

As a centre of international diplomacy and cooperation and with its unique system of direct democracy, Switzerland enjoys a reputation for upholding fundamental human rights—but how free are the Swiss to express their opposition to power?

Published: 24 April 2024 15:25 CEST
How free are people to protest in Switzerland?

In its recently released 2024 report, Amnesty International criticised Switzerland for imposing restrictions on the right to protest and for dispersing protests violently. 

So what’s the problem? 

While not an explicit ban on protest, Amnesty International considers the obligation in some Swiss cantons for protest organisers to gain official approval and shoulder potential costs to be a repressive measure—essentially a ‘workaround’ in cooling dissent.

Amnesty International’s criticism comes on the heels of other concerns.   

In 2024, Amnesty International joined with the United Nations in criticizing moves by some Swiss cantons and cities to ban protests regarding the Middle East conflict as ‘disproportionate’. 

Read More: How ordinary citizens can try to change the law in Switzerland

The organization has also highlighted the continued use of rubber bullets by Swiss police in dispersing protests as a serious area of concern. 

Furthermore, any changes to protests are controlled or permitted in Switzerland must be made through individual cantons due to the country’s devolution of specific powers – a process that could take years. 

So what restrictions have been introduced in Switzerland?

In early March, the ‘Anti-Chaoten’ initiative put forward by the right-wing Swiss People’s Party (SVP) youth wing, which would have placed significant legal and financial burdens on protesters, was rejected in a Zurich cantonal referendum. However, a counterproposal by cantonal authorities was accepted at the polls.

The successful counterproposal requires explicit permission from authorities to hold a protest or rally, as well as passing on the cost of the police operation, as well as any intentional damage, to protest organizers. Failure to gain approval for protests can result in charges being laid. 

Following the success of the Zurich measure, the Basel SVP intends to introduce a similar proposal to be voted on in August – with the same likely result.

Which protests have been dispersed violently in Switzerland? 

Due to global events, protests have become increasingly common in Switzerland over the last five years. Most have been peaceful, but there have been exceptions.

Measures introduced to limit the spread of the coronavirus between 2020 and 2022 led to violent protests being dispersed in Bern, Zurich and Lucerne. 

Read More: Switzerland to impose tougher penalties for violent protesters

Climate change protests have also been violently dispersed by police, using pepper spray and rubber bullets – such as in Basel in February 2023.

Amnesty International has also raised serious concerns regarding the police dispersal of an International Women’s Day protest in Basel on March 17th of this year, in which rubber bullets were also used. 

Most recently, opponents of the Eritrean regime were dispersed with tear gas and water cannons at a demonstration in Gerlafingen, Aargau, on March 31st. 

What right do the Swiss have to protest? 

The right to peaceful protest is enshrined in the Swiss federal constitution—Article 16 provides for freedom of expression, while Article 23 protects the right to free association. 

Indeed, in 2020, the country successfully introduced a resolution to the United Nations Human Rights Council, calling for world governments to protect the right to protest and not use the coronavirus pandemic as a reason to curtail freedoms. 

Read More: What foreigners should know about the Swiss constitution

Furthermore, the country is a signatory to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, as well as the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture, which could have some bearing on how protests are dispersed.  

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