Police must separate hostile groups in the Bern Rocker trial
On the first day of the trial against members of hostile rock gangs on Monday in Bern, stones were thrown between Hells Angels and Bandidos. The police had to separate the groups and traffic was obstructed.
They prefer to be discreet and usually settle disputes according to their own uncompromising rules. The Bern trial sheds light on the country’s motorcycle gangs.
Several hundred rockers chanting slogans loudly, fighting and throwing stones in Bern; police using water cannons and rubber bullets: images from the “rocker trial” are not something that would be common in Switzerland.
It’s no secret that Hells Angels, founded in California in 1948, operate in this country. However, very few Swiss feel something like this in their daily life. A trial with 22 members of rival Hells Angels / Broncos and Bandidos motorcycle clubs on trial sheds light on the country’s motorcycle gangs. And it shows how ruthlessly its members act in conflicts.
“Not a Bern Phenomenon”
It begins with the initiation of a trial, an argument in May 2019 in the Bernese suburb of Belp, in which several people were seriously injured. Recently, two members of Hells Angels and Bandidos shot themselves in the middle of a bar in Geneva. Miraculously, no one was hurt.
“Gang crime is not a Bern phenomenon, but a Swiss phenomenon,” Bern security director Reto Nause told blue News. For many years, no new motorcycle club made its way to Switzerland until Bandidos appeared a few years ago. Which led to a power struggle with Hells Angels, longtime best dogs.
The Zurich lawyer Valentin Landmann, who is close to Hells Angels, sees it similarly – although in Tages-Anzeiger he sees new actors responsible for the escalation of violence. “There was peace in Switzerland for fifty years. Now certain groups want to bring us a war from abroad, »says Landmann.
The Federal Police Office (Fedpol) confirms that Hells Angels is the only motorcycle club (MC) that has been present in Switzerland for decades. They would hold a “higher position” for themselves. “Anyone who ignores the inner rules of this scene must expect reprisals from the Hells Angels or their supporters.” On their website, Hells Angels lists all the clubs they tolerate.
Fedpol has noted for several years that new rocker or rocker-like groups – which operated in a similar way but in which the motorcycle does not play such a central role – wanted to gain a foothold in Switzerland. However, in most cases these groups would be disbanded, sometimes under pressure from other groups. The exception is Outlaws, founded in 2010.
Hells Angels members enter a court in Bern to follow the trial in a dispute between Hells Angels and Bandidos motorcycle clubs.
The policemen secure the street in front of the courthouse
Police assign members of Bandidos and Hells Angels to separate sectors.
Hells Angels does not like the fact that Bandidos wants to settle in Switzerland.
Hells Angels’ “visit” to the Bandidos bar intensified. Several people were seriously injured.
It is said that the tone in the courtroom is more civilized than that out with the supporters of the accused.
Police officers stand between members of Hells Angels (pictured) and Bandidos to prevent a confrontation.
The Rocker trial against 22 defendants began in Bern
Hells Angels members enter a court in Bern to follow the trial in a dispute between Hells Angels and Bandidos motorcycle clubs.
The policemen secure the street in front of the courthouse
Police assign members of Bandidos and Hells Angels to separate sectors.
Hells Angels does not like the fact that Bandidos wants to settle in Switzerland.
Hells Angels’ “visit” to the Bandidos bar intensified. Several people were seriously injured.
It is said that the tone in the courtroom is more civilized than that out with the supporters of the accused.
Police officers stand between members of Hells Angels (pictured) and Bandidos to prevent a confrontation.
In turn, Bandidos has two branches in Switzerland from 2021. Fedpol assumes a “low two-digit number of members”. “There is rivalry between Hells Angels MC and Bandidos MC in Switzerland; the branching of Swiss Bandidos exacerbated the tensions between the two MCs.
Fedpol talks about several incidents, some of which are criminal in nature, that go back to this rivalry. The recent incident in Geneva “illustrates the potential for violence that exists between these rival motorcycle groups”.
Attention is rarely wanted
Motorcycle groups tend to be inconspicuous, says ZHAW violence researcher Dirk Baier. “Their business model, which includes drug, arms and human trafficking, is at risk if groups are too focused. Violence usually breaks out in the environment when new groups emerge who challenge the group’s claims and want to start a competitive business.
The fact that rockers are showing up more and more now could also be a consequence of the corona pandemic, “where business was certainly inferior,” Baier suspects. Since there are no statistics on rocker crime or gang crime, development cannot be estimated.
According to Fedpol, members of rock and rocker-like groups based in Switzerland have historically been involved in violent and against property crimes, as well as violations of gun and drug laws. The cantonal authorities bear the primary responsibility for the crimes that are usually attributed to them.
According to violent researcher Dirk Baier, rockers pose no threat to outsiders: while rock groups can “behave with great brutality,” this is usually directed against rival groups. Nevertheless, the following rule applies: “When rock groups attack each other, if you are in the wrong place at the wrong time, you can also become part of the conflict.”
As there is a risk to bystanders, “all forms of competing violence between groups of motorcyclists must be prevented,” demands the researcher.
Overall, Fedpol states that “also in Switzerland there is considerable potential for conflict on the rock and rock groups scene”. The presence of several rival groups in recent years has repeatedly led to tensions and attacks. “So far, however, they have not reached the intensity that is repeatedly seen in, for example, some German Länder.”
Several rock gangs are banned in Germany – unlike in Switzerland. Among them are Hells Angels sections.