UN experts denounce Switzerland for sentencing students over Gaza protests

UN human rights experts have protested to Bern after a group of students were sentenced for trespassing after taking part in pro-Palestinian protests at a Swiss-funded university, they say in a statement.

Around 70 students at the Swiss university ETH Zurich took part in peaceful sit-in in May 2024 as part of student demonstrations in several cities during the Gaza war before being dispersed by police.

Students who took part in the protests were opposing the Swiss facility’s partnerships with Israeli universities, the UN experts say.

“Peaceful student activism, on and off campus, is part of students’ rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, and must not be criminalized,” the UN experts say, adding that they had written to the Swiss government and the university to raise the issue.

A spokesperson for the Swiss Federal Ministry of Justice and Police does not immediately respond to a request for comment. An ETH Zurich spokesperson does not immediately respond.

Five students have so far been sentenced for trespassing, resulting in suspended fines of up to 2700 CHF ($3,516.08), legal fees of over 2,000 CHF ($2,604.85) and a conviction on their criminal records which are frequently sought by prospective employers, the UN experts say.

Ten others who appealed the charges await sentencing and two others were acquitted, they say.