Facts
The appellant [X.] was convicted by the High Court of the Canton of Aargau for breach of the peace. The conviction was based on his participation in a violent gathering of football fans on 18 October 2014 in Aarau. The appellant had been at the forefront of a group of fans who had gesticulated against the police and opposing fans. The lower court assumed that the appellant was part of the violent crowd and had not removed himself in time.
The appellant lodged a complaint with the Federal Supreme Court and requested that the judgment be overturned and that he be acquitted of guilt and punishment. He argued that the lower court had arbitrarily established the facts and that he had not participated in the violent acts.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court overturned the judgment of the High Court and acquitted the appellant. It came to the conclusion that the lower court had not sufficiently proven the objective elements of breach of the peace. The lower court had considered the appellant to be part of the violent crowd, even though he had demonstrably removed himself from the scene before any violence occurred.
The Federal Supreme Court emphasized that participation in a violent gathering must be proven individually and that the facilitation of evidence under Art. 260 SCC only applies if the participation in the gathering and the violent acts are in a sufficient temporal and spatial context. In this case, such a context was lacking, as the appellant had removed…