|
Swiss
Hemp
Activist
Freed
After
International
Outcry
2/1/02
DRCNet reported two weeks ago on the case
of Bernard Rappaz, a Swiss cannabis activist and grower who had been on
hunger strike since his arrest in November (http://www.drcnet.org/wol/220.html#rappaz).
Rappaz, the owner of the Valchanze cannabis company, was arrested November
14 for possession of 51 metric tons of cannabis and 110 pounds of hashish,
but his supporters told DRCNet he was arrested because of his activism
surrounding the medical use of cannabis.
Switzerland currently tolerates the open
sale of cannabis products, including the smokeable flowers, under the pretense
that people are buying bags of buds as "potpourri." Pretense is scheduled
to melt away later this year when, in a move already approved by the Swiss
government, parliament is set to legalize use and possession and allow
for its sale under limited conditions (http://www.drcnet.org/wol/177.html#swissdecrim).
A judge in Sion ordered Rappaz released
on January 25, as the grower and cannabis exponent entered the seventy-third
day of his hunger strike in the prison wing of Geneva hospital, where he
was transferred on January 3. His lawyer told the Associated Press
last week that he was on the verge on death.
The Swiss court insisted that Rappaz' hunger
strike and deteriorating condition had nothing to do with his release,
instead saying that he was freed because he no longer posed a danger of
interfering in a money laundering investigation of his well-known, well-established
business. Rappaz' bank accounts have been seized and his company,
which employed at least 20 growers, has been bankrupted. A hunger
strike "is not a reason for releasing anybody," the court noted.
But maybe international pressure is.
As DRCNet reported, Rappaz's supporters organized rotating solidarity fasts
in Australia, Switzerland, France, and Belgium, and organized a global
web-based petition demanding his release. DRCNet is aware of at least
one call to the Swiss embassy in Washington, as well. (We made it.)
The Swiss Federation of Cannabis Consumers
has a complete account of la affaire Valchanvre (in French), including
photos of a gaunt, bedridden but determined Rappaz, at http://www.multimania.com/fdcc/homepage.htm
online.
-- END --
|
Issue #222, 2/1/02
Editorial: On Freedom, Rights and Duties | At the Statehouse I: Former Delaware Governor Heads Effort to End Mandatory Minimums, Stop Prison Expansion | At the Statehouse II: Kentucky Legislator Offers Bill Allowing Police Access to Oxycontin Prescription Records | At the Statehouse III: Marijuana Decrim Bill Dead in New Mexico, Other Drug Reform Measures Still Breathing | At the Statehouse IV: Washington State Legislation Would Reduce Drug Penalties, Recognize Social Dealing | Radical Party Putting Manchester Police in a Pickle over Pot Cafe, Cops Unappreciative | Violent Dope Fiends a Myth: Another Study Finds Alcohol Most Linked to Violence | Bolivia Crisis Sharpens as Parliament Expels Cocalero Leader Evo Morales and US Funded Anti-Drug Forces Kill Again | Norwegian Commission Set to Call for Decriminalization of Drug Use, Possession | Swiss Hemp Activist Freed After International Outcry | White House Drug Office Pays $3.20 Million for Super Bowl Anti-Drug Ads Linking Drugs and Terrorism | Alerts: HEA Drug Provision, Bolivia, DEA Hemp Ban, Ecstasy, Mandatory Minimums, Medical Marijuana | Baltimore Job Opportunity with Injection Drug Use Study | The Reformer's Calendar
|
Mail this article to a friend
Send us feedback on this article
This issue -- main page
This issue -- single-file printer version
Drug War Chronicle -- main page
Chronicle archives
Subscribe now!
|
PERMISSION to reprint or
redistribute any or all of the contents of Drug War Chronicle (formerly The Week Online with DRCNet is hereby
granted. We ask that any use of these materials include proper credit and,
where appropriate, a link to one or more of our web sites. If your
publication customarily pays for publication, DRCNet requests checks
payable to the organization. If your publication does not pay for
materials, you are free to use the materials gratis. In all cases, we
request notification for our records, including physical copies where
material has appeared in print. Contact: StoptheDrugWar.org: the Drug Reform Coordination Network,
P.O. Box 18402, Washington, DC 20036, (202) 293-8340 (voice), (202)
293-8344 (fax), e-mail drcnet@drcnet.org. Thank
you.
Articles of a purely
educational nature in Drug War Chronicle appear courtesy of the DRCNet
Foundation, unless otherwise noted.
|
