The Fasel Gang was a group of Swiss criminals, mainly composed of Jacques Fasel, Daniel Bloch and a third sidekick, three accomplices that claimed to fight for

anarchism Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...

and

social justice Social justice is justice in relation to the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society where individuals' rights are recognized and protected. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has of ...

. This social demand earned Jacques Fasel the nickname ''Robin des Bolzes''. A Bolze being an inhabitant of the lower town of

Fribourg or is the capital of the Cantons of Switzerland, Swiss canton of Canton of Fribourg, Fribourg and district of Sarine (district), La Sarine. Located on both sides of the river Saane/Sarine, on the Swiss Plateau, it is a major economic, adminis ...

History

Daniel Bloch met Jacques Fasel in 1977 at the Bellechasse penitentiary where they were both imprisoned for

conscientious objection A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of conscience or religion. The term has also been extended to objecting to working for the military–indu ...

. Arrested after a first series of attacks, including one during which a money conveyor was killed, Jacques Fasel escaped from Tavel prison in June 1979. He was recaptured in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

in December 1979. In May 1981, Daniel Bloch was arrested in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

then extradited to

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, while Jacques Fasel escaped from Bochuz penitentiary on July 26, 1981 in the company of five other prisoners, thus avoiding appearing at his trial in August 1981. He was then sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment. In November 1981, the third associate was arrested in

La Grande-Motte La Grande-Motte (; ) is a commune in the Hérault département in Occitanie in southern France. It is a popular seaside resort and port near Montpellier, built in the 1960s and 1970s. La Grande-Motte is characterized by homogeneous architectur ...

then extradited to Switzerland. Arrested in Paris in March 1982, Jacques Fasel was also extradited to Switzerland in the fall of 1982. The trial of the three men was held in 1985. Daniel Bloch was sentenced to 10 ½ years in prison, the third sidekick to 12 ½ years and Jacques Fasel to 14 years. In 1986, the Friborg court annulled the judgment pronounced against Jacques Fasel and a new trial resulted in a 12-year prison sentence against him. In the spring of 1987, Daniel Bloch published a book entitled ''La Bande à Fasel: Mythe et Réalités?'' retracing his career, he was imitated at the end of the year by Jacques Fasel, who published ''Droit de revolte''. In March 1988, Jacques Fasel managed to escape from Witzwil penitentiary, in the

canton of Bern The canton of Bern, or Berne (; ; ; ), is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. Its capital city, Bern, is also the ''de facto'' capital of Switzerland. The bear is the heraldic symbol of the c ...

. He was recaptured in the fall near

Balaruc-Le-Vieux Balaruc-le-Vieux (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Hérault Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region in southern France. Population See also *Communes of the ...

on September 28, 1988 and then extradited to Switzerland in May 1989, after being tried in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

for using false papers. His request for asylum in France was refused. Jacques Fasel was released from prison on August 30, 1991.

List of the main attacks attributed to the Fasel Gang

*Heist at the

Jumbo Jumbo (December 25, 1860 – September 15, 1885), also known as Jumbo the Elephant and Jumbo the Circus Elephant, was a 19th-century male African bush elephant born in Sudan. Jumbo was exported to Jardin des Plantes, a zoo in Paris, and then tr ...

Villars-sur-Glâne Villars-sur-Glâne (; ) is a municipality in the district of Sarine in the canton of Fribourg in Switzerland. Geography Villars-sur-Glâne has an area, , of . Of this area, or 29.3% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 17.5% is fores ...

, October 2, 1978. A money conveyor was killed. *Attack on the post office in (NE), October 6, 1978. *Attack on the postal train in the Val de Travers on November 27, 1978. *Hold-up of the Post Office in Hauterive (Neuchâtel), November 28, 1978. *Hold-up of the State Bank of Friborg Courtepin in the

Canton of Fribourg The canton of Fribourg, also canton of Freiburg, is located in western Switzerland. The canton is bilingual, with French spoken by more than two thirds of the citizens and German by a little more than a quarter. Both are official languages in th ...

, December 6, 1979. *Hold-up of the Central Post Office in

Neuchâtel Neuchâtel (, ; ; ) is a list of towns in Switzerland, town, a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality, and the capital (political), capital of the cantons of Switzerland, Swiss canton of Neuchâtel (canton), Neuchâtel on Lake Neuchâtel ...

, December 20, 1979. The group fled with a boat on

Lake Neuchâtel Lake Neuchâtel ( ; ; ) is a lake primarily in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. The lake lies mainly in the canton of Neuchâtel, but is also shared by the cantons of Vaud, Fribourg, and Bern. It comprises one of the lakes in th ...

Marin-Epagnier Marin-Epagnier was a municipality in the district of Neuchâtel in the Swiss canton of Neuchâtel. On 1 January 2009, Marin-Epagnier and Thielle-Wavre merged to form the new municipality of La Tène.Anarchism in Switzerland Anarchism in Switzerland appeared, as a political current, within the Jura Federation of the International Workingmen's Association (IWA), under the influence of Mikhail Bakunin and Swiss libertarian activists such as James Guillaume and Adhémar ...

References

Bibliography

* * * *{{cite news , first=Ludovic, last=Rocchillan, title=Pour Jacques Fasel, "les jeunes ont raison de manifester collectivement", work=

Radio Télévision Suisse The Radio Télévision Suisse (; "Swiss Radio Television"), shortened to RTS, is a subsidiary of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR), operating in French-speaking Switzerland. It was created on 1 January 2010 by a merger of Radio Suis ...

, date=27 May 2019, url=https://www.rts.ch/info/suisse/10462755-pour-jacques-fasel-les-jeunes-ont-raison-de-manifester-collectivement-.html 1977 establishments in Switzerland 1991 disestablishments in Switzerland Organized crime groups in Switzerland Defunct anarchist militant groups Conscientious objection Swiss escapees Anarchism in Switzerland