July 3, 2026, 2:42 p.mJuly 3, 2026, 2:42 p.m
A Swiss-Kenyan human rights activist was found guilty by a court in Bern on Friday of incitement to violence and crimes. It was about a post the man made about the Middle East conflict that he had published on social media in 2024.
The single judge recognized that the accused was passionately committed to the cause of the oppressed and weak and was raising his voice for this. Nevertheless, he clearly overshot the mark with his post.
The public prosecutor saw this message as a public invitation to crime or violence. The accused is perceived by the public as a political human rights activist. His contribution was therefore capable of influencing the moods and urges of the readers and inciting them to act violently.
This is serious, not least because anti-Semitism is present in society. In Switzerland, too, there has been repeated violence against Jewish institutions “and more recently even against people,” the indictment says.
The public prosecutor’s office demanded a conditional fine of 40 daily rates for the accused at an amount yet to be determined and a fine of ten daily rates.
Anti-Semitic riots are increasing worldwide.Image: keystone
Coined against the Israeli government
In court on Friday, the man emphasized that he did not want to spread anti-Semitism. He has been committed to fighting all forms of racism and discrimination for years. What has been done and is being done to Jews makes him very sad.
His post on social media was more about Israel and its government, not about fellow Jews around the world.
The single judge objected that he could have phrased his post exactly the same way, but he didn’t. The contribution could certainly be understood as a call to do “the right thing”. And he clearly defined this “right thing” in the previous sentence: namely, killing people.
Overshot
The single judge recognized that the accused was passionately committed to the cause of the oppressed and weak and was raising his voice for this. Nevertheless, he clearly overshot the mark with his post.
Several thousand people will demonstrate in Zurich in 2025 for an immediate end to the Gaza war and demand more humanitarian aid for the Palestinian population.Image: KEYSTONE
After the media reported on the controversial post, he also knew that his post could certainly be understood as a call to violence. Nevertheless, he published it again in spring 2024 with his own explanations.
The court assumed that there was a contingent intent, meaning that the man merely accepted that the post could be understood as a call for violence. The court further acknowledged that the processing of the case had taken too long and considered the requirement for acceleration to be violated.
The court of first instance sentenced the activist to a conditional fine of 40 daily rates of 40 francs. The man would only have to pay the 1,600 francs if he committed another crime within two years. The court decided not to impose an additional fine.
The case is not yet legally binding and can still be referred to the next higher authorities.
Since the recent flare-up of the Middle East conflict in autumn 2023, the sensitivities of the respective supporting camps have also become more pronounced in the city of Bern.
Champion against racial profiling
The accused had made a name for himself as a champion against discrimination and racism. He successfully defended himself against racial profiling during a police stop in Zurich in 2015 before the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
Racial profiling is the term used to describe official controls that are carried out without specific suspicion, solely on the basis of skin color, ethnic origin or presumed religion. (sda)