Twelve young Swiss climate activists appeared in court near Lausanne on Tuesday after they refused to pay a fine for trespassing following a climate protest held inside branches of bank credit Suisse.
The activists, mainly students aged from 20 and 25, were handed the 21,000 chf fine after the protest held in November 2018.
A team of 13 lawyers is defending them pro bono and says they were acting as whistle-blowers for the climate emergency.
Around 20 people entered the Lausanne credit Suisse building on November 22, 2018, wearing tennis players’ outfits, playing tennis and calling on Swiss star roger Federer to drop his sponsorship deal with the Swiss bank.
There was no damage and the action was conducted peacefully, according to lawyers.
The bank said in a statement it respected their cause but deemed their actions unacceptable.
