Hemp farmer gets additional jail sentence
A hemp farmer sentenced to more than five years in jail for growing marijuana and other offences now faces an extra year in prison.
A court in Martigny, in French-speaking Switzerland, ordered that Bernard Rappaz – who hit the headlines after a series of hunger strikes – must serve 12 months for further offences.
Rappaz was found guilty on Tuesday of seriously violating the drugs law, money laundering and forgery of documents for a series of offences over the period 2002-2006. His lawyer said he would appeal the sentence.
Rappaz has begun and ended several hunger strikes since his first conviction in March 2010 which concerns the period 1996 to 2001. He claimed his sentence was too severe.
The case received widespread media attention in Switzerland, in particular because of the dilemma faced by the authorities over whether or not to force feed Rappaz if necessary.
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