Genf /Nyon/Buenos Aires: Gipfelinfo

Gipfelinfo - Meldungen über globalisierte Solidarität
und die Proteste gegen unsolidarische Globalisierung
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- Demonstrationsrecht: Aufruf zur Unterstützung
- - AUBONNE CASE -Highlighting repression and fighting police impunity
- Genua Solidemo in Buenos Aires

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Demonstrationsrecht: Aufruf zur Unterstützung

Schweizer Aktivisten bitten um Hilfe bei der Verteidigung einer Gruppe von
Demonstranten, die wegen Versperren einer Straße während der G8-Konferenz im
Juni 2003 angeklagt sind. Während der Protestaktion durchschnitt ein
Polizeibeamter das Seil, an dem zwei Demonstranten hingen. Ein Demonstrant fiel
hierdurch 20 Meter tief und wurde schwer verletzt.

Homepage:  http://www.aubonnebridge.net

[indymedia.de, von car busters - 15.03.2004 12:18]

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AUBONNE CASE -Highlighting repression and fighting police impunity.

legal update (March 2004).

Please distribute widely…

!! COURTCASES AGAINST THE ACTIVISTS ON 28th JUNE 2004, in Nyon Switzerland!! We
are organising an anti repression and dealing with trauma (for activists)
gathering on the weekend of the 26th and 27th June. More details soon....
THE POLICEMEN HAVE STILL NOT BEEN CHARGED…

1st of June 2003:
Aubonne bridge action to block the delegates on their way to the G8.
The police cut the rope, from which two climbers were hanging and caused the 20m
fall of Martin Shaw and severe mental trauma to Gesine Wenzel.
The action managed to deviate the convoy of some G8 delegates to the conference
center.

LEGAL SITUATION:

The 2 climbers were both taken to hospital: Gesine with a shock, Martin with
fractures in two vertebras, the pelvis and a very badly broken foot that
probably is not going to fully recover. Both are charged with blocking the road.
Martin was interviewed the day after his operation whilst still in intensive
care and under morphine.

>From around the 20 activists, partaking in the action on the bridge:
6 people were taken to the police station, held for 10 hours and charged
3 people were taken to the police station, held for 10 hours and released
without charges.
Women were strip-searched, people were denied food water and warm clothes,
verbally abused and denied the chance to speak to a lawyer or legal support group
People were taken there as witnesses (handcuffed) but were later charged.
Others were identified but not taken into police detention.

Charges against the activists:
The charges for the 8 accused activists are for blocking traffic circulation
("entrave a la circulation publique", art.237 ch.1 CP). This article is quite a
major offence in Switzerland as it includes endangering other peoples' lives -
as opposed to obstruction of the traffic which would have been a more reasonable
charge considering the safety measurements we took.

The activists on the bridge:
Some have been found guilty in their absence and sentenced to 15 days prison
suspended for 2 years.

One of the Swiss people refused to be judged in absence. His court case has been
joined to the one of the two climbers and will take place sometime in March.
Furthermore he has filed a complaint against the police for opening the road to
traffic while people were in the middle of the motorway. The judge has not taken
any legal action in response to that yet.

The climbers:
Both were accused of blocking traffic and did not agree to be sentenced in
absence. Their court date will be held in March in Nyon, between Lausanne and
Geneve.
The exact date will be known at the end of January.
The court is open to the public, including the press (no cameras and
microphones), but only about 20 people can physically get in. A demonstration
outside the court and a press conference are being planned.
A campaign leading up to that is starting, help is needed.

Investigation of the case:
The state is investigating the policeman who cut the rope to find out if there
was an offence of body harm with negligence (which is clearly not sufficient
considering two people were almost killed).
Thus the climbers have filed a complaint against the police for endangering
their lives, not assisting them in distress, and for inflicting severe bodily
harm on Martin.
While the climbers were accused 3,5 months after the action with quite serious
charges, neither the policeman who cut the rope nor the senior officer who was
responsible of the intervention have been charged- although their action nearly
cost 2 persons lives.
At the end of the investigation the instruction judge will decide if the police
will be sent to court or not.

The instruction judge has turned out to be quite biased.
A complaint to the tribunal and the general instruction judge has been written
questioning his impartiality. He is supposed to guide the investigation and
basically has not done anything challenging the effective impunity of the police.

We will ask the Canton de Vaud for compensation and the suspension of the
officer who cut the rope and the senior officer. If they don't agree, we will
have to bring them to court.

Follow up:
*A press conference was held the day after the action and second one a month
later when Martin left hospital showing new video evidence contradicting the
police version of the event. They had held a press conference 5 hours after the
incident pretending the policeman did not know about the existence of the
climbers because he came late.

*An international action day was held a week after the action with actions on
Swiss embassies in around 10 countries.
*The video of the action was shown to some Deputes (Members of the parliament of
Vaud). Subsequently the officials wrote a paper to the judge, asking him to
investigate of the role of the senior police officer. As his aggressive and
intolerant behavior were determining factors in this incident.
*A lot of benefit gigs, solidarity parties etc have been put on all over Europe
to raise money for medical, legal, administrative and travel costs.
Medical situation:
Martin has just started learning to walk without crutches. He needs several
hours of physiotherapy every day, causing him quite a lot of pain and
discomfort. It is still not sure if he will ever totally recover the full
mobility he enjoyed before the incident. Gesine is suffering from posttraumatic
stress disorder and is undergoing therapy.

Campaign for the court case:
We urgently need people who are willing to support us. We need people who can:

· Organising info evenings or benefit gigs in your country
· Translate materials
· Providing us with contacts for Journalists, fundraising possibilities, MEP's,
potentially sympathetic groups etc.
· Inform your local MP, local alternative and mainstream press
· Fundraising
· Help us around the court date or when we go to Davos to protest and publicise
the case
· Skilled video editors
· If you would like to be more involved in the campaign, contact us for more
information.

www.aubonnebridge.net
 aubonne@no-log.org
Irregular updates > send blank mail to:  aubonne.update-subscribe@lifeproject.lu

Financial help is urgently needed to cover campaign expenses such as legal fees,
travel, admin, etc.; bank contacts on the web page. Up for putting up a benefit gig?

We can provide a copy of the raw video footage of the action for a minimum of 5
Euros.

For further information or to order the video: contact  aubonne@no-log.org or
subscribe to the update list by sending a blank mail to
 aubonne.update-subscribe@lifeproject.lu

[ http://www.aubonnebridge.net]

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Genua Solidemo in Buenos Aires

Heute, am 15.3.2004 fand eine Demonstration mit anschliessender Kundgebung vor
der italienischen Botschaft in Buenos Aires, Argentinien, statt. Mehr als 100
AktivistInnen drueckten so ihre Solidaritaet mit den italienischen GenossInnen
aus, die zur Zeit in Genua vor Gericht stehen. Die 26 AktivistInnen sind
angeklagt, an den Ausschreitungen im Rahmen der Proteste gegen den G8 Gipfel im
Juli 2001 in Genua teilgenommen zu haben. Ihnen drohen Haftstrafen von 8 bis 15
Jahren.

Die Demonstration zog vom Park "Las Heras" ueber eine der Hauptverkehrsstrassen,
die Avenida Las Heras im Zentrum von Buenos Aires (Capital Federal) zur
italienischen Botschaft.

Dort wurden verschiedene Redebeitraege verlesen und eine Petition an den
Botschafter uebergeben. Dieser gab die Zusage, diese an die italienische
Regierung weiterzuleiten. Zum Schluss der Kundgebung wurden Parolen an die Wand
der Botschaft gesprueht: "Carlo Giuliani - presente" (Carlo Giuliani ist bei
uns), "Berlusconi-Asessino" (Berlusconi-Moerder), "Libertad para los compañeros
de Genova" (Freiheit fuer die GenossInnen in Genova), "Italia fuera del Irak"
(Italien raus aus dem Irak), sowie Farbeier und ein Kuebel Farbe auf die
Botschaft ausgeschuettet.

Organisiert und unterstuetzt wurde die Demonstration von den Gruppen Mup-20,
Grupo Alavío, Hijos, Coordinadora para la libertad de los presos políticos,
Genova.libera und Ak kraak.

[indymedia.de, von ak kraak - 16.03.2004 04:10]

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