Showing what side they’re on, in case anyone wondered.
[IsraelTimes] Special rapporteurs on rights to free expression, assembly say activism ‘must not be criminalized,’ after students each fined some $3,500 for occupying Zurich university buildingA group of United Nations
...an organization originally established to war on dictatorships which was promptly infiltrated by dictatorships and is now held in thrall to dictatorships...
experts on Tuesday protested to Bern after students were sentenced for trespassing after taking part in pro-Paleostinian protests at a Swiss-funded university.
"Peaceful student activism, on and off campus, is part of students’ rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, and must not be criminalized," 10 independent UN experts said in a statement.
The experts pointed to criminal penalties sought by the publicly funded Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETHZ) as mass student protests over the Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about
oppressionand
disproportionate response...
war rocked universities in many countries in May 2024.
Around 70 students had staged sit-ins at ETHZ, demanding "a stance against genocide, an academic boycott of Israel and full transparency in terms of [the school’s] co-operation with Israeli institutions."
Israel adamantly rejects accusations that it committed genocide in Gaza, and says it has made efforts to avoid killing civilians in its fight against Hamas
..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,..., which it accuses of embedding among noncombatants.
The UN experts, including the special rapporteurs on the right to education, to free expression, and on the rights situation in the Paleostinian territories, pointed out that police were reportedly called within minutes at the Swiss institution.
"A large security presence [was] deployed, and the sit-ins forcibly dispersed, despite no teaching being interrupted and no violence occurring," the statement said.
A spokesperson for the Swiss Federal Ministry of Justice and Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment. An ETH Zurich spokesperson did not immediately respond either.
After the protests, 38 ETHZ students received "penal orders" — mainly fines of up to 2,700 Swiss francs ($3,500) — including 17 who opted to appeal, it said.
"Recent court decisions have upheld trespass convictions against five students, while acquitting two others on procedural grounds," the statement said.
However,
there's no worse danger than telling a mother her baby is ugly...
all students involved, including those acquitted, were required to bear court and administrative costs, amounting to at least 2,400 Swiss francs ($3,130) per person, a spokeswoman for the experts told AFP.
Decisions for the remaining 10 students are still pending.
The experts, who are mandated by the UN Human Rights Council but who do not speak on behalf of the United Nations, called on the Swiss authorities and judicial system to "take full account of Switzerland
...home of the Helvetians, famous for cheese, watches, yodeling, and William Tell...
’s human rights
When they're defined by the state or an NGO they don't mean much...
obligations."
"Universities and states must ensure that expressing solidarity with human rights causes and demanding accountability from state institutions, especially in relation to well-documented instances of international crimes, do not lead to intimidation, prosecution, or long-term harm to students’ futures," they said.
Israel denies violating international law in the Gaza war.