Marco Camenisch (born 21 January 1952) is a Swiss anarchist and environmental activist.
Biography
Early life
Camenisch was born on 21 January 1952, in Campocologno, Switzerland and raised in a middle-class home in canton Graubünden.
Activism
In the late 1970s, Camenisch was involved in local opposition to the nuclear power industry. In Switzerland, as in other countries, the movement against nuclear power plants utilized tactics of direct action: cutting down electrical pylons, sabotage against power stations, and actions against leaders of the nuclear industry.
On Christmas eve of 1979, Camenisch with René Moser sabotaged a power station belonging to NOK (Nordostschweizer Kraftwerke) at Bad Ragaz, St. Gallen with explosives, destroying two transformers and a power pole. The pair were arrested for the sabotage in January 1980 and after spending a year free on bail, the court of Canton in Chur and Graubünden sentenced Camenisch to 10 years in prison.
In 1989, Swiss federal police and media claimed he was responsible for the killing of Swiss border police officer Kurt Moser at Brusio. In 2002 the Swiss government transferred him back to Pfäffikon.
In November 2006 the Federal Supreme Court nullified this sentence on the basis that the sum of the two prison terms would exceed the maximum of twenty years set by Swiss law. On 13 March the sentence was therefore reduced to eight years.
Camenisch has maintained his political beliefs during his time in prison, and he has remained a political activist.
See also
- Ecoterrorism