Video convicts torch thrower in court in Zurich
Published: Tuesday, Mar 19th 2024, 13:30
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On Tuesday, the Zurich District Court sentenced an FCZ fan to 17 months' imprisonment for attempted grievous bodily harm. The 23-year-old Swiss national threw a lit distress flare in the direction of opposing fans after a football match in October 2021.
The prison sentence was suspended on probation for a probationary period of two years. This means that the convicted person will only have to go to prison if he commits another offense within the probationary period. In addition to the prison sentence, he received a fine of 200 francs and must pay the costs of the proceedings amounting to more than 3,000 francs.
As requested by the public prosecutor's office, the court judged the throwing of the flare to be attempted grievous bodily harm. Due to their actual purpose, distress flares are difficult to extinguish and can reach temperatures of up to 2000 degrees Celsius. They can therefore cause severe burns.
The accused said during the trial that he had not wanted to hurt anyone with the torch. He regretted the incident and no longer had much to do with the FCZ fan scene. He had already confessed to taking part in the storming of the pitch and throwing the torch during the criminal investigation.
Video footage shows the torch being thrown
His defense lawyer referred to video recordings which allegedly show that the flare landed on the tartan track and not in the opposing fan sector. There was no one there who could have been injured. The accused should therefore be acquitted of the charge of attempted grievous bodily harm.
The court took a different view and briefly replayed the relevant video footage at the opening of the verdict. It shows how the accused took a running start and threw the burning torch with full force in the direction of the GC fans. "He obviously didn't care whether opposing fans were hit," said the judge.
The incident took place during the Zurich city football derby between FC Zurich and GC Zurich at Letzigrund Stadium on October 23, 2021. Around 60 FCZ supporters stormed onto the pitch and towards the GCZ fan sector at the end of the match.
The new "disgrace of Zurich"
The riots following the Zurich derby made headlines at the time, with the Blick newspaper, for example, referring to them as a "disgrace of Zurich 2.0". This was a reference to the serious riots after a match in Zurich in 2011, which were dubbed the "disgrace of Zurich".
The police were able to identify a total of 18 people who were allegedly involved in the riot, as the Zurich city police announced around a year after the incident. Following the riots, the disciplinary commission of the Swiss Football League ordered that the south curve of FCZ be banned for two derby home games.
The judgment of the District Court of Zurich is not yet legally binding. It can be appealed to the High Court.
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