On Monday another anti-fascist was sentenced in the trials of "Basel Nazifrei". On November 24, 2018, the revolutionary movement and fighting masses had taken to the streets and blocked a demonstration of the fascist "Party of Nationally Oriented Swiss" (PNOS).
Under the charge of "passive violence and threat", the reaction now tries to criminalize this act of resistance. Already on July 7, 2020, one person was sentenced to seven months probation for participation in the demonstration alone. This development is by no means new, because for years the Swiss state and the repressive organs of the city of Basel have been in a process of increasing reactionarization.
With the sentence imposed on Monday, the reaction shows where the journey is headed. The accused antifascist was sentenced to eight months imprisonment without probation. But what are the accusations against her? The only accusation the court has against her is that she participated in an unauthorized demonstration and refused to leave. The reason for the prison sentence is the activist's anti-fascist conviction, which the court also openly admitted. However, the sentence is so high that even bourgeois media call it disproportionate and declare that the court did not adhere to the presumption of innocence.
The trial was accompanied by a rally in front of the court building in the morning and in the course of the evening a solidarity demonstration was mobilized in which about 200 people participated. The demonstration moved from Claraplatz across Klybeckstraße and the Dreirosenbrücke to Voltaplatz. The anti-fascists lit fireworks and shouted slogans like "Basel Nazi Free" and "Shoulder to shoulder against fascism!
The trials are still ongoing and further convictions are expected. The repression against the convicted anti-fascists is a direct attack on the revolutionary movement in Switzerland and must be answered accordingly.
Support the defendants in the Basel-Nazifrei trial and come to the next solidarity rally!
Wednesday, October 21, 7:30 am, Schützenmattstrasse 20, Basel
