UN human rights experts have raised serious concerns over the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich) pursuing criminal prosecution against students who peacefully protested the university’s research partnerships with Israeli institutions. The experts emphasized that publicly funded research must not contribute, directly or indirectly, to war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide, and that both states and institutions are legally obligated to prevent such outcomes.
The partnerships reportedly involve Israeli universities linked to the military-industrial complex, focusing on technologies including artificial intelligence, surveillance, and weapon systems that could be used in the occupied Palestinian territory. Until October 2025, ETH Zurich stated that no end-use controls applied to its fundamental research collaborations, leaving potential military applications largely unchecked. New Swiss dual-use export control regulations introduced in May 2025 do not cover fundamental research, placing the responsibility primarily on individual researchers without robust institutional oversight.
The experts highlighted that integrating academic research into military systems raises questions of potential complicity in international crimes. They stressed that publicly funded universities have a legal duty to uphold human rights standards and avoid supporting unlawful acts, including Israel’s control over occupied Palestinian territories.
In May 2024, around seventy students staged sit-ins demanding transparency and disengagement from research tied to Israel’s military-industrial complex. Police were called within minutes, a large security presence was deployed, and the protests were forcibly dispersed despite no violence or disruption of teaching. Following the protests, 38 students received penal orders, with 17 appealing despite the financial and personal risks. Courts have upheld trespass convictions for five students, acquitted two others on procedural grounds, and decisions for the remaining ten are still pending.
The experts underlined that peaceful student activism, both on and off campus, falls under the rights to freedom of expression and assembly and should not be criminalized. They called on universities and the state to ensure that advocating for human rights and holding institutions accountable does not lead to intimidation, prosecution, or long-term harm to students’ futures.
Swiss authorities and ETH Zurich have been contacted by the experts, who urged immediate action to address both the potential complicity of research partnerships in international crimes and the criminalization of peaceful student protests, in line with Switzerland’s human rights obligations.
