Basel police use rubber bullets to break up women’s demo
www.swissinfo.ch
Police in northwest Switzerland used rubber bullets to break up an unapproved demonstration that took place in the city of Basel on Wednesday.

(Summary)

The 8th of March is widely recognized and depicted as a feminist day of struggle, which prompted women and all gender-queer individuals to display their fight and struggle against the capitalist, patriarchal system.

A day prior to the demonstration, the local police force denounced it, claiming that it would be organized and attended by “radical leftists who are ready to exercise violence”.

After the initial gathering area was blocked well in advance of time by the police, the demonstrators regrouped in front of an university before beginning to march the streets with banners, chanting against the system.

The police force blocked the demonstration of an estimated 250 individuals from both ends of a street, trapping it with no exit. Any attempt to step forward was met by a volley of rubber bullets and stun grenades.

Multiple acts of police brutality were reported and recorded, including an aggressive assault of the frontline which forcefully removed the protective banners of the demonstration before firing rubber bullets at point blank range, head level.

On another occasion, a video shows a police officer firing a blank shot in the direction of journalists and observers who were uninvolved and unrelated to the demonstration.

The gathering dissolved over time as individuals surrendered, where their identity was verified and confirmed by police before then being photographed and documented—a reported rights violation.

The police force has defended its conduct, claiming it, in hindsight, wouldn’t have acted any differently that night. Left-oriented political parties heavily protested the police’s actions.

Sources (primarily for images or media, includes German):

Video recording of one of the police assaults which was followed by point blank rubber bullet shots at demonstrators:

Overview of the situation & footage of the blank fired toward journalists.

General coverage:

Pictured: last stand of the final 50 demonstrators: