Stones fly at start of Bern biker brawl trial
Around 200 Hells Angels and Bandidos motorbike gang members faced off outside a court in the Swiss capital, Bern, on Monday ahead of the start of a month-long trial into a violent clash between the two gangs in 2019.
In total, 22 rival gang members are accused of taking part in a fight at Belp, southeast of Bern, in May 2019 that resulted in numerous injuries.
Two men are accused of attempted intentional homicide, while another man is charged with grievous bodily harm. After stopping the fight, the police seized numerous weapons, including an assault rifle, six pistols, knives, machetes, tasers, pepper sprays and baseball bats.
There was a heavy police presenceExternal link outside the court building on Monday to separate rival gang members who had travelled to Bern from other parts of Switzerland and abroad. Some stones and bottles were thrown, and the police used water cannon and rubber bullets to keep the two groups apart.
According to the Office of the Attorney General of canton Bern, the violence in Belp in 2019 erupted after the Bandidos gang, which was not officially represented in Switzerland at the time, allegedly tried to open a chapter there.
The Hells Angels and their allies the Broncos supposedly saw this as a provocation and decided to intimidate and disturb a Bandidos party at Belp.
Prosecutors say all defendants were aware that the situation was going to degenerate and that the rival gangs were looking for a fight to mark their territory. A verdict is due on June 30.
The Bern trial comes after a shooting incidentExternal link in a bar in Geneva on May 21 allegedly between Hells Angels and Bandidos gang members. A police investigation is ongoing.
There are reportedlyExternal link around 200 Hells Angels gang members in Switzerland and around 40 Bandidos. A number of smaller gangs are also thought to be present.
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