Injured G8 protester's appeal rejected
A Swiss court today upheld the acquittal of two policemen who were tried for the serious injury of a British activist at a G8 summit in France three years ago.
The court in Lausanne rejected an appeal by two plaintiffs, who sought to challenge an earlier verdict clearing two policemen who had been accused of negligent bodily injury.
Activist Martin Shaw, from Ealing, west London, suffered multiple fractures from falling when police cut the rope he was hanging from as part of a demonstration against the summit of the eight leading industrialised nations that took place in Evian in June 2003.
Mr Shaw and another activist were hanging from each end of the rope, which they had tied to a bridge. When one of the policemen cut it, Mr Shaw fell some 65ft into a shallow river. Police were able to prevent the second activist from falling.
The court said the accident was primarily Shaw’s responsibility, because it led to a dangerous blockage of the highway. The court shared the opinion of the state prosecutor’s office, which had already acquitted the policemen in February.
“This appeal was the last legal possibility to oblige the police to respond to this act,” Mr Shaw said.
“There is no means of appealing to a superior court.”
Shaw and the other activist, Gesine Wenzel of Germany, were given suspended prison sentences of under 20 days in June 2004. Shaw’s sentence was later waived because of the severity of his injuries.
