Graffiti, Molotov cocktails, and a Marx quote: The icon of the Zurich left-extremists will be condemned after an absurd process theater.

Graffiti, Molotov cocktails, and a Marx quote: The icon of the Zurich left-extremists is condemned after an absurd trial theater By a woman who prefers to wave flags in court rather than face the rule of law. And whose name also appears on the margins of the Parisian mass protests. There she is, Andrea Stauffacher, in the crowd before the Zurich District Court. She waves a red flag while a contingent of about seventy largely masked international solidarityists demand it. The 76-year-old – a leading figure of the Revolutionary Build-up, dubbed by the tabloid press "Krawall-Grosi" – is here to demonstrate for her own release. "Free Andi" is the slogan that the left autonomists of the city have been posting in calls, spraying walls, and writing on posters for weeks. The slogan also appeared in Paris this week, amidst the mass protests there. It was spray-painted on the old facade of the Caserne Vérines, a military building in the 10th district, Place de la République. The slogan was prominently displayed there between two elegant doors, under a Palestinian flag and next to the inscription "ACAB" – "All cops are bastards." The problem with the demand is, however: Andrea Stauffacher, the woman with the thin glasses and the hard look, is already free. At least for now. While she and her followers fight so energetically, a regular court proceeding against her – which is scheduled to take place this Wednesday morning at the Zurich District Court – is not. It concerns two charges that date back several years. Both relate to unauthorized demonstrations that turned into violence – one in Zurich in 2022, another in Basel in 2023. Stauffacher is accused of having endorsed and facilitated violence as part of these marches. The corresponding criminal offenses – breach of the peace and violence and threats against authorities and officials – are a kind of legal net. Thought for cases where more serious offenses like bodily harm cannot be proven because they were committed or attempted in the name of protecting a mob. They are considered by the Zurich prosecutors to be an attempt to target a woman who has been dancing on the nose of them with her actions for years. And against her – measured by her more than thirty-year career as a self-proclaimed revolutionary – there are surprisingly few verdicts for serious offenses. Silence and collusion Involvement in two explosive and arson attacks in Zurich – in 2011 sentenced by the Federal Criminal Court to seventeen months in prison – is the most significant offense that has ever been proven against her. Added to this are four previous convictions for breach of the peace and other offenses from the 1990s and 2000s. The Revolutionary Build-up is considered by insiders a secret, collusive community with a hard core of around fifty people and mobilization potential of several hundred people who primarily appear at crystallization points of the scene such as May 1st or the anti-EU protests. Measured against this, the seventy protesters found themselves relatively modest. The trial scheduled for 8 o'clock was already the second attempt to legally clarify the recent accusations against Stauffacher. A first court date in March was thrown into chaos when the senior figure simply did not show up. Even then, she was said to have been sighted in the courtroom while her place on the prosecution bench remained empty. A rather absurd image that repeated itself on Wednesday. Outside the court, the accused waving the flag. Inside, before the judge, only her defense lawyer Bernard Rambert – who himself was once a co-founder of the Revolutionary Build-up more than thirty years ago. "The extent of the violence was enormous" The prosecutor Daniel Aepli clarified in his plea what the case is about from his perspective: "Political beliefs do not legitimize violence." In a liberal democracy, everyone can find and say what they want. But acts of violence must not be committed under the guise of freedom of expression. During the disputed demonstrations, police were massively attacked and in some cases were sprayed with paving stones, glass bottles filled with paint, and Molotov cocktails. Several, partly serious injuries were the result. Property damage also occurred on a mass scale. "The actions were not peaceful, but aimed at violence from the beginning," said Aepli, whose statements were interrupted at times by the crackling of Molotov cocktails in the courtroom. "The extent of the violence was enormous." Through her presence, by giving speeches with a megaphone, and by leading a demonstration, Stauffacher did not just endorse this behavior, but actively enabled and promoted it, so the prosecutor said. For the police involved, she created "a considerable danger." This is a view of things that Stauffacher and her group vigorously dispute in their communiqués and also in their speeches before the district court. However, those who expected a fiery counter-plea from her lawyer Rambert in the courtroom were disappointed. A Marx Quote Instead of a Defense At his client's request, he will neither make requests nor state anything to the prosecution, says Rambert. Although the lawyer let it be clear that he holds little of the prosecutor's argumentation legally. However, his hands are tied. "I would like to express myself, but I am not authorized to do so." Instead, Rambert brought up a brief digression on the theory of communist society. He quoted the "Communist Manifesto" of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels: "Your right is only the will of your class as established by law." This, according to Rambert, is also his client's political conviction. Therefore – because she rejects the Swiss legal system – she does not want to appear in court. "She does not want to submit to the power of justice, which defines who is the perpetrator and who is the victim." Rambert did not answer the question of why Stauffacher uses the local streets and trams, the hospitals, and the water supply – after all products of exactly this legal system – without scruples. A Clear Verdict A confrontation without dialogue, an absurd theater where opposites are sharpened instead of seeking the truth: This is what the militant core of the left-autonomous scene tries to do with every encounter with state power in the hope of delegitimizing their processes and rules. The three-judge panel of the District Court of Zurich proceeded with an unruffled trial. After a short deliberation, they announced their verdict at 11 o'clock. Andrea Stauffacher is found guilty of multiple breaches of the peace and violence and threats against authorities and officials. The accused was part of a violent mob in Basel as well as in Zurich for several hours. She had a significant share in its actions. "She is a perpetrator of conviction, she is unreformable," said the presiding judge. Due to her five relevant prior offenses, none of which showed any effect, the court imposes an unconditional prison sentence of twelve months. Andrea Stauffacher must therefore go behind bars once again. If the Zurich authorities can find her.