Climate activists accused of blocking Credit Suisse bank in Zurich

On July 8, 2019, a group of environmental campaigners sat in front of the entrance of Credit Suisse bank in Zurich and chained themselves to plant pots and bicycles. The police had to use special tools to break the chains. A total of 64 people were arrested. © Keystone / Ennio Leanza

Eight environmental activists have been charged with blocking the entrance of a Credit Suisse bank in Zurich in 2019. The Zurich public prosecutor’s office has accused them of coercion and trespassing.

On July 8, 2019, the eight defendants – six women and two men – participated in a coordinated sit-in together with dozens of other activists to block access to the bank. They were protesting against Credit Suisse and other banks which they claimed were financing the extraction of coal, oil and gas.

The campaigners sat in front of the entrance and chained themselves to plant pots and bicycles. The police had to use special tools to break the chains. A total of 64 people were arrested, including the eight who will be tried in the coming weeks. Other trials are expected to follow.

Seven of the charged protesters come from French-speaking Switzerland; one is from Zurich.

Other cases

Swiss courts have been busy with several cases involving environmental protesters. In January five environmental activists were acquitted by a Basel criminal court of charges relating to a protest action that blocked access to a UBS building in Basel in 2019. For some charges there was insufficient evidence, the judge said.

The Federal Court in Lausanne is also set to review the conviction on appeal last September by a lower court of 12 climate activists who staged tennis matches inside a Credit Suisse bank in Lausanne, some dressed as Roger Federer, to highlight alleged environmental abuses.

Before the coronavirus pandemic, Switzerland was the scene of large climate protests. In 2019 thousands of students marched across the country demanding stronger action on climate change. The financial sector has come under growing pressure to divest from fossil fuels.