Denier of the state must stand trial in Bülach
Published: Tuesday, Mar 12th 2024, 04:50
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A denier of the state has to answer to the Bülach District Court today for obstructing an official act. The 48-year-old Swiss national had refused to show his ID to the police. He did not have to comply with state requirements, he said.
The 48-year-old had lit a fire in the forest a year ago in strong winds. The Bülach municipal police went to the site of the fire to extinguish the flames and check on the person in charge.
However, the accused refused to show his ID, according to the indictment. Instead, he argued that he was not a person, but "a living being".
And as such, he did not have to adhere to government regulations because this was a contract with "persons", which he was not. Due to his steadfast refusal to reveal his identity, the Bülach municipal police finally called in the cantonal police for assistance.
However, he did not want to identify himself to these police officers either. Instead, he tried to run away, whereupon he was finally pushed to the ground by the police officers.
The public prosecutor's office wants to punish the state refuser with a conditional fine of 15 daily rates of 150 francs, plus a fine of 450 francs. If he does not pay the fine, the man would have to spend three days in prison.
Additional work for authorities
The phenomenon of state deniers is increasingly becoming a problem for the authorities. These conspiracy theorists firmly believe that the state is a "holding company" and the police a "company". In their view, regulations or laws are null and void.
This means additional work for the authorities because these people often refuse to pay their bills. In the canton of Thurgau, for example, tax and debt collection offices are experiencing increasingly tense situations. Employees even had to be protected with structural measures.
With your back to the court
In the canton of Zurich, state objectors last year changed the names of some district courts in Google ads to "Bezirksgerichts AG", i.e. a public limited company. In order to deal with this "clientele", professional associations such as the Zurich Association of Civil Registrars now offer courses.
During court proceedings, people who refuse to comply with the state like to turn their backs on the judges because, in their opinion, the state does not exist. A landlord from the Winterthur region, for example, who did not want to comply with the coronavirus restrictions, left the courtroom in 2022 to go for a smoke. Afterwards, he went home - even before the verdict.
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