Climate activists suffered yet another legal defeat in Lausanne. Twelve people, including doctors Valérie D’Acremont and Blaise Genton, were sentenced on Friday for participating in an Extinction Rebellion demonstration on December 14, 2019.
That day, these twelve people, accompanied by other activists, took part in a sit-in and blocked rue Centrale in Lausanne to alert the population to the climate emergency. Refusing to leave the scene, they had been evacuated in turn by the police.
The District Court of Lausanne considered that this demonstration, which had not been authorized, had constituted “an undue use” of the public space, and all the more so on “an essential axis” for traffic in the center. -city. Judge Lionel Chambour also noted that an ambulance had been “delayed” due to the blockage of the street.
Act differently
The magistrate also reproached the activists for not having complied with the summons of the police. He said law enforcement had been “tolerant enough” in giving activists time to leave on their own.
For the judge, climate change is “neither disputed nor questionable”, and “the sincerity” of the activists is “no doubt”. However, he felt that the activists had other “possible means” to carry out their fight.
Referring to a judgment of the Federal Court, he pointed out that, from a legal point of view, the climate emergency does not correspond to the definition of “imminent danger”.
Different penalties
The judge handed down pecuniary sentences ranging from 15 to 20 day-fines suspended. This difference in treatment comes in particular from the fact that four elected municipal officials were among the defendants, including Valérie D’Acremont, municipal councilor in Lausanne. The Court saw fit to punish them more severely.
Each activist will also have to pay a fine of 300 francs. Except Valérie D’Acremont and Blaise Genton, for whom the fine was set at 1000 francs, given their financial situation. The legal costs – between 300 and 700 francs depending on the case – are also payable by the defendants.
“A shame”
This verdict aroused the anger of activists and the public who came to support them. “It’s a shame! You don’t understand anything,” a defendant told the judge as she left the courtroom.
“You are on the wrong side of history,” added another. “We have been facing a pandemic for two, and you believe that there is no imminent danger!” Added another activist.
Before the Tribunal, the anger did not subside. “During our pleadings, we tried everything to make the judge understand the situation, people’s concern. But he did not take it into account. We did not manage to crumble his reinforced concrete shell”, commented Blaise Gentleman.
The activists have already announced that they will appeal this judgment.
Rare acquittals
This trial was part of the so-called “trial of 200” series, which began last September and which sees activists in court for various acts of civil disobedience in Lausanne between 2019 and 2020. While around half have already been tried , only five activists have so far benefited from an acquittal.
This latest trial particularly stood out because of the presence of Valérie D’Acremont and Blaise Genton. The two doctors from Unisanté, who are also married, are figures in the world of health. These are notably known faces in the fight against the coronavirus: Valérie D’Acremont as an infectious disease specialist and Blaise Genton as head of the Vaud vaccination campaign.
This article has been published automatically. Source: ats