Rallies Acquittal for Amnesty employee after protest in Bern
An employee of the human rights organization Amnesty International was acquitted in court in Bern on Thursday. She had defended herself against a fine of 300 francs that had been imposed on her following a protest outside the Russian embassy in Bern.
15.08.2024, 16:38
SDA
The woman, identified as an Amnesty employee, wanted to hand over a petition for peace in Ukraine to the Russian embassy in March 2022 together with five other colleagues. But this did not happen. The group was stopped. The woman was fined because the municipal police inspectorate deemed the action to be an unauthorized rally.
The activist defended herself against the sanction and has now been upheld by the Bern-Mittelland Regional Court of First Instance, as Amnesty International announced on Thursday.
The human rights organization considers the delivery of petitions to embassies to be an important instrument in the fight for human rights. In this respect, Amnesty International welcomed the acquittal.
However, the court failed to deal in depth with the obligation to obtain a permit for demonstrations in Bern, the organization criticized in its press release. In its view, such protests should not be subject to a registration requirement in the first place.
