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Should a Swiss be sent to prison for fighting in Ukraine, believing it to be a just cause? Yes, according to the law in Switzerland, where it’s illegal to fight for a foreign army. In Wednesday’s briefing a man from Zurich faces three years in prison for defending Ukraine against Russia.
In the news: The Locarno Film Festival opens, the Zurich Film Festival names its star guest, Swiss spending on research and development, a seat belt anniversary, and a ministerial visit to Japan.
The 77th edition of the Locarno Film Festival opens today, marking the beginning of the Maja Hoffmann era, the festival’s new president. Situated on the shores of Lake Maggiore, the eagerly awaited festival features a packed programme: 225 screenings over ten days, including 104 world premieres.
Staying with the seventh art, Kate Winslet, a British actor, will be the star guest at the 20th edition of the Zurich Film Festival on October 7. Winslet, who appeared in Titanic, will be honoured at the festival for her career and will present her new film.
Switzerland spent just under €915 (CHF856) per capita on research and development in 2023, the highest in Europe. The average per capita spending in the European Union was around €275. Regarding total spending, Switzerland ranks sixth in Europe.
Seat belts have been compulsory in the rear seats of cars in Switzerland for exactly 30 years. According to the Swiss Council for Accident Prevention (BFU), 96% of drivers, 95% of front-seat passengers and 92% of rear-seat passengers now buckle up. By comparison, in 2000, significantly fewer drivers (77%) and only 32% of rear-seat passengers used a seat belt. Wearing seat belts has prevented more than 5,700 serious injuries and around 650 fatalities following road accidents in Switzerland over the last ten years, the BFU said.
During her visit to Japan today, Defence Minister Viola Amherd reiterated Switzerland’s desire to modernise the free trade agreement between the two countries. Despite excellent trade relations, there is a lack of dynamism in the trade of goods.
Swiss military justice has launched 24 proceedings against Swiss citizens suspected of having fought in Ukraine: one on the Russian side and 23 on the Ukrainian side. These include Jona Neidhart, who criticises Switzerland’s “hypocrisy” with regard to the conflict.
Neidhart, 36, returned to Zurich in June after two years on the Ukrainian front and says he is proud to have fought for the Ukrainians and for freedom. Today, he considers himself “blessed”, having suffered neither war wounds nor psychological after-effects, despite the barbarity of the conflict.
“The Russians are much more numerous and don’t respect any rules on the battlefield. This means that we have to fight against an enemy that is absolutely brutal and without conscience,” he told Swiss public television, RTSExternal link, yesterday.
Shocked by the Russian invasion in March 2022, Neidhart left his university studies in Bern to join the International Legion of Territorial Defence of Ukraine, or the Ukrainian Foreign Legion. He served for two years in the “Bravo” company, where casualties were heavy. “One of my comrades died last year in November. We had to recover his body. His head was gone,” he says.
Despite the horror, Neidhart says he understands the reasons for his fight and never loses his motivation on the battlefield. As they passed through the liberated regions, Ukrainian civilians were extremely grateful. “They thanked us and said that they finally felt liberated from these ‘Russian monsters’, that it was really magnificent.” In Ukraine, Neidhart believes he fought for democracy. We previously covered Neidhart’s story and motivation in February.
On June 13 he returned to Switzerland and voluntarily reported to the military courts, as it’s illegal in Switzerland to fight for a foreign army. He hopes to receive the maximum sentence of three years in prison. This, he believes, will give him the opportunity to make the public aware of the absurdity of condemning someone who is fighting for a just cause, on which, in his view, the whole of the West – and Switzerland – depend.
However, it’s not certain that Swiss military justice will be so heavy-handed. The penalty could be limited to a fine. The motivation of a Swiss citizen serving in a foreign army can influence the determination of the sentence. While awaiting trial, Neidhart is forbidden to leave Switzerland, a situation he finds difficult. He would like to be able to do much more, because in his eyes “every day, innocent people are killed, massacred by the Russians”. He is now continuing his fight in a book, in which he denounces the lack of Western military equipment supplied to Ukraine.
It’s been quite a day for Swiss resident Dominic Lobalu, taking part in the men’s 5,000 metres race at the 2024 Olympics in Paris. Just when he thought he was out – they pulled him back in!
Lobalu, 25, has in fact had quite a life: born in a remote village in what is now South Sudan, his parents died in a civil war when he was nine and he spent his teens in a Kenyan orphanage. He ended up at a school outside Nairobi, where his running talent was noticed and, one thing leading to another, he moved to Switzerland in 2019.
Last year Swiss Athletics asked World Athletics to allow Lobalu to represent Switzerland even though he didn’t have Swiss citizenship (he can’t apply for naturalisation until 2031). World Athletics decided to overlook this obstacle and let Lobalu compete for Switzerland from May 10. The following month he won two medals (gold in the 10,000m and bronze in the 5,000m) at the European Championships, which persuaded the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to invite him to join its 37-strong Refugee Olympic TeamExternal link.
This morning he set off in his qualification heat, and everything was going well – until the final straight, when he and three other runners tumbled to the ground. “It’s a horrible feeling,” he told Swiss public radio, RTS, right afterwards. “A French runner [Hugo Hay] shifted and I caught his foot. It all happened very quickly.”
The top eight finishers booked their place in the final, and Lobalu thought his Olympics was over. But – a few minutes later the four fallers were reinstatedExternal link! Lobalu will therefore run in the final on Saturday evening.
Why did two photos taken in Switzerland 15 years apart make a British couple cry?
An article in The GuardianExternal link yesterday told the story of how a British couple, Duncan and Helen Porter, took a photo of themselves on the Rhône Glacier in the Swiss Alps earlier this month – exactly 15 years after taking the same photo for the first time. While the Porters look 15 years older, the most striking thing is the backdrop: the ice has disappeared and turned into a massive grey-green lake.
“Not gonna lie, it made me cry,” Duncan Porter tweeted. The Rhône Glacier had shrunk by about a quarter between the two photos.
In this article we look at how Alpine glaciers could disappear by the end of the century and why the consequences will be felt not only in Switzerland but throughout Europe.
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