FUNDRAISING FOR CHARGED STUDENTS! (SEE BELOW FOR BANK DETAILS)

Dear all,

As a reminder, ETH Zürich is taking a unique stance amongst Swiss Universities by criminalising the student-led peaceful sit-ins which took place on the 7th May and 31st May 2024 in the Zentrum campus. The student protestors and their allies were demonstrating against ETH Zürich's ongoing collaborations with Israeli academic institutions. These institutions are critical in maintaining the systems of apartheid rule and are complicit in the Genocide of the Palestinian people, making them valid targets for an academic boycott following PACBI guidelines.

For daring to express their constitutionally guaranteed freedoms of assembly and speech, the student protestors are now facing minimum fines on average of 1250 CHF and a 2 year criminal sentence. Rather than address their own partnerships with an Apartheid state, ETH Zürich has chosen to criminalise its own students - imposing a significant emotional and financial burden in the hopes of silencing any criticism. It is worth noting that this comes in the midst of a housing crisis in Zürich, where a criminal record can scupper any chance of finding a place to live. Apparently, that is a punishment the board at ETH Zürich finds commensurate for students peacefully sitting down in a public building.

16 students are choosing to fight the charges and protect our own legal freedoms. The administrative costs of the legal proceedings are estimated to cost an average of 8000 CHF per defendant. 

To cover the cost of the fines and the administrative costs of the students fighting this legal case, an association has been set up: Verein zum Schutz der Meinungsfreiheit (VSM). In collaboration with Swiss Action for Human Rights, they have set up a fundraising campaign with a Goal of 150000 CHF. Further details of this calculation and the campaign can be found here (also with Twint): Swiss Action for Human Rights

I am writing to you on behalf of the charged students to ask that you donate to this campaign. The bank details can be found below. For our international signatories, a GoFundMe has also been set up to expedite overseas donations. 

Donate via Bank Transfer
Verein zum Schutz der Meinungsfreiheit (VSM)
8003 Zurich, Switzerland
IBAN: CH42 0900 0000 1656 6753 3
BIC/SWIFT: POFICHBEXXX

TWINT (one-click, only for Swiss residents)

For full disclosure, I am acting as the Treasurer of VSM, but do not and will not receive any financial benefits from my involvement in the association.