SOSF | Solidarity is not a crime: nearly 30,000 signatures submitted
Wednesday, December 4, 2019, the human rights organizations Solidarity Without Borders and Amnesty International Switzerland submitted to the parliamentary services the «Solidarity is not a crime» petition», signed by 29,281 people, and the ’ Statement by Lawyers of Switzerland on Solidarity Offences » signed by over 200 lawyers. Both texts support the’Parliamentary initiative 18.461 «Ending the crime of solidarity», filed by Lisa Mazzone and which will be processed soon by the National Council.
A press file related to the petition in French and German has been available since December 4, 2019. on the Solidarité sans Frontières website. The French version can be downloaded by clicking on the image below.
In the link, read the editorial signed by Philippe Bach published on December 4, 2019, in Le Courrier « Let's open the windows » and find the file that Vivre Ensemble dedicated to the theme in its issue 168 of June 2018 « Offense, or duty of solidarity?«
In 2018, 972 people were convicted for violating Article 116 of the Foreign Nationals and Integration Act (incitement to illegal entry, exit, or stay). A large portion of these convictions concern people who acted to help refugees in distress and derived no personal profit from it.« These convictions are in contradiction with the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1998. », said the lawyer Melanie Aebli At the press conference.« We ask the new Parliament to amend Article 116 Law so that people who help refugees without profiting from it can no longer be prosecuted ».
For Anni Lanz, human rights activist convicted under Article 116, « Appealing a penal order and going to court costs a lot of money. A person with an average income cannot afford it. »The former secretary-general of "Solidarité sans frontières" (Solidarity without Borders) had been convicted for helping a particularly vulnerable young Afghan enter Switzerland. Following the confirmation of her conviction by the Valais Cantonal Court, she recently appealed to the Federal Court with financial support from sympathizers.
The advisor to the United States Lisa Mazzone, initiator of parliamentary initiative 18.461, also believes that Switzerland must move forward and abolish the offense of solidarity: « This is an opportunity for the new majority to correct a legislative flaw today rather than rehabilitate people who have shown humanity several years from now. »
Roxane Sheybani, the lawyer who signed the declaration, explained the reasons for such support from Swiss lawyers for the decriminalization of the solidarity offense: « Criminal law consists of protecting members of a society by deterring them from committing harmful acts. It is understandable that homicide is penalized to protect us against homicide. It is understandable that rape is penalized to protect us from rape. However, it is difficult to imagine that we need to be protected against selfless help.»
Reto Rufer, responsible for human rights in Switzerland and asylum at Amnesty International Switzerland, concluded the press conference by comparing Switzerland's practice regarding the offense of solidarity with that of other European states: « With its rigid legislation, Switzerland is increasingly an outlier: in countries like France, Germany, and Sweden, aiding illegal stays is only condemned when it is for profit. ».
