UN Special Rapporteurs condemn Switzerland’s criminal repression of students’ free speech at ETH university in Zurich
27.01.2026 - In a press release published today, experts at the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) decry Switzerland’s judicial persecution of students for peacefully protesting against complicity in genocide at the ETH Zurich Federal University in 2024, and demand Switzerland take swift action to respect human rights and uphold its obligations under international law.
The Swiss federal university ETH in Zurich, a publicly-funded State institution, initiated criminal prosecution of 38 protesters who participated in peaceful sit-ins in the university’s main hallway during the spring of 2024 to denounce ETH’s continued collaboration with Israeli institutions suspected of participating in human rights violations in Palestine, including apartheid and war crimes against the Palestinian people. This led to criminal convictions of the students in question, sentences upheld by first instance courts in Zurich in the students’ legal appeal procedures, which now proceed to higher courts (for further details, see bottom of page).
In light of these recent developments, the UN Experts have intervened to raise the alarm and clarify the following critical points from an international law and human rights perspective, as stated directly from the press release:
“Publicly funded research must not contribute, directly or indirectly, to war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide. States and institutions have an obligation to ensure that this does not happen.”
In light of this, they noted that: “the collaborations reportedly involve universities that are integral to Israel’s military-industrial complex, working on artificial intelligence, surveillance, and weapon technologies potentially used in the occupied Palestinian territory” and therefore that “the alleged integration of academic research into military systems raises serious questions of potential complicity [by ETH and the Swiss State] in international crimes”.
“Universities, especially those receiving public funding, have a legal obligation to uphold human rights standards and refrain from supporting, directly or indirectly, any unlawful acts or occupations, such as Israel’s control over the occupied Palestinian territory.”
“Peaceful student activism, on and off campus, is part of students’ rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, and must not be criminalised,” the experts said.
“Universities and States must ensure that expressing solidarity with human rights causes and demanding accountability from State institutions, especially in relation to well-documented instances of international crimes, do not lead to intimidation, prosecution, or long-term harm to students’ futures,” they said.
The experts urged Swiss authorities and the judicial system to take full account of Switzerland’s human rights obligations. They called for swift action regarding the potential complicity of research partnerships in international crimes and the criminalisation of peaceful student protests. The experts have contacted the Swiss Government and ETH Zurich on this issue.
The statement released today by the OHCHR Special Procedures branch is undersigned by all Special Rapporteurs working on the relevant topics: SR on the right to education Farida Shaheed, SR on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression Irene Khan, SR on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association Gina Romero, SR on the situation of human rights defenders Mary Lawlor, SR on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967 Francesca Albanese, as well as the Working Group on Business and Human Rights.
THE CONTEXT
ETH University Hall in Zurich, May 2024
Several dozens of students had gathered in the main hall to demand disclosure of and divestment from such collaborations, which are suspected of violating international and Swiss law obligations, in light of the ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza and illegal Israeli occupation and annexation of the West Bank.
The students demanded transparency and a dialogue between the student body and executive board of ETH under the slogan “NO TECH FOR GENOCIDE”. However, the ETH board immediately called the police to close the perimeter around the students and refused to engage in dialogue with the protesters, despite the pacific nature of their sit-in action. The ETH Board subsequently pressed criminal charges for “trespassing” against 38 of the protesters, leading to their criminal conviction by Zurich prosecutors, with fines and a criminal record.
Some of the students went on to appeal these criminal sentences, with the support of Swiss Action for Human Rights, in order to defend their right to expression and peaceful assembly as per the Swiss Federal Constitution and mandatory international law obligations applying to Switzerland. Before the first instance district courts in Zurich, the Bezirksgericht, the students presented their cause and arguments in the summer of 2025. Sadly, the judges of the district courts failed to recognise the primacy of human rights and the students’ right to expression and rejected the students’ appeal, upholding their criminal convictions.
