Occupation of a shopping center is not coercion
Published: Thursday, Nov 16th 2023, 12:20
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Seven climate activists are not convicted of coercion by the Federal Court. In 2019, they had protested against the bargain day "Black Friday" and blocked the entrance hall of a shopping center in the city of Fribourg.
The pressure exerted on third parties during the peaceful action was not sufficient to convict the activists of coercion, the Federal Supreme Court ruled on Thursday.
The activists had blocked access to the store from 5 p.m. with shopping carts and boards, some of which they had chained themselves to. The police cleared the blockade at 7 pm.
Seven people were fined 150 francs by the cantonal court of Fribourg for violating police orders and measures. The first-instance conviction for coercion was overturned by the cantonal court.
The public prosecutor's office then appealed to the Federal Supreme Court and demanded an additional conviction for coercion.
No serious disruption to everyday life
The Federal Supreme Court has now dismissed this appeal, as it announced on Thursday. Someone is guilty of coercion if they force a person to do, refrain from doing or tolerate something by restricting their capacity to act.
The court went on to state that customers of the shopping center had been prevented from entering and leaving at the entrance in question, which had led to a certain amount of unrest. However, the action had been carried out in such a way that customers could have entered and left the center via other entrances with a slight detour. This did not constitute a serious disruption to everyday life.
Overall, the cantonal court was therefore right to assume that the action was protected by the freedom of expression and assembly. The Federal Supreme Court recalled that state authorities must exercise a certain tolerance in the case of unauthorized but non-violent assemblies so that the freedom of assembly is not emptied of its content. The duration and extent of the disruption must be taken into account.
The Federal Court referred to a case in which the European Court of Human Rights deemed the almost complete blockade of three major highways to be worthy of punishment.
(Decision 6B_138/2023 of October 18, 2023)
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