The city of Bern would like to move the rocker process – the court dismisses it

The Bern-Mittelland regional court assumes that the trial will also take place in the next few days at its seat in the Bern office building: a court spokesman said on Tuesday on request. He thus confirmed a report by the regional journal Bern Freiburg Valais from Swiss Radio SRF.

In front of this building and in the entrance area, on the first day of the trial on Monday and also on the second day on Tuesday, there were several clashes between members of three motorcycle clubs and between them and the police. The latter was present with a large contingent and separated the groups.

Busy roads around the building had to be closed twice for several hours. Bus stops were not served either. The Amthaus is located near the main train station next to the important Schützenmatt junction.

Against this background, the city of Bern’s security director, Reto Nause, thought aloud on Tuesday about moving the process to a less frequented location. “We are exploring various options,” Nause said in the regional journal.

Nause emphasized that it was not within the competence of the city of Bern to change the venue. But there were discussions. It is important to calmly analyze the situation and talk to the people who could make this decision.

Bottles, stones and provocations

22 defendants have been in court since Monday morning, most of them members of the Bandidos motorcycle club. This group, which had previously been active abroad, wanted to found an offshoot in Switzerland in 2019. That didn’t sit well with the top dogs, the Hells Angels and their allies, the Bernese Broncos.

In May 2019 they wanted to give the Bandidos a lesson in their designated clubhouse in Belp. The rockers attacked each other with stabbing, punching and firearms. There were several seriously injured.

The main perpetrators, accused of attempted murder, have so far remained silent on the incident in court. The other defendants will be questioned over the next few days. Most of them should also remain silent. The process is likely to take days, the verdict is expected at the end of June.

Numerous members and sympathizers of the enemy biker gangs lined up near the building on Monday to support their accused comrades. Soon not only insults were flying back and forth, but also fist-sized stones and bottles.

On Tuesday morning only Hells Angels and fellow rockers could be seen on the Schützenmatte. At the entrance to the office building, however, supporters of the various rocker groups clashed.

In the course of the morning, the clashes temporarily shifted to the Grauholz motorway service area near Bern. A police patrol was busy there when several motorcyclists suddenly arrived. A scuffle ensued.

The police patrol used pepper spray and also had to threaten the use of weapons. She called for reinforcements, after which the situation was quickly calmed down, according to a police spokeswoman. According to the police, no one was injured.

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