Fasel Gang

The Fasel Gang was a Swiss criminal group active principally in French-speaking Switzerland during the late 1970s and early 1980s. It is associated primarily with Jacques Fasel, Daniel Bloch, and a third accomplice whose name is not identified in the supplied reference material. The group became known for attacks on banks, post offices, postal transport, and commercial premises. One of its early robberies, at a Jumbo store in Villars-sur-Glâne on 2 October 1978, resulted in the death of a money transporter. Other attributed operations included attacks on the post office at La Coudre, a postal train in the Val de Travers, the post office at Hauterive, the State Bank of Fribourg branch in Courtepin, and the central post office in Neuchâtel. The group’s public image was shaped not only by its crimes but also by its stated political language. Its members claimed that their actions were motivated by anarchism and social justice. Jacques Fasel was consequently given the nickname “Robin des Bolzes,” referring to the Bolze inhabitants of Fribourg’s lower town. This political framing contributed to the group’s later mythologization, while contemporary reporting and judicial proceedings treated the members as violent criminals responsible for organized robberies and related offenses. Fasel and Bloch first met in 1977 at Bellechasse penitentiary, where both were imprisoned for conscientious objection. After the group’s first series of attacks, its members were repeatedly arrested, extradited, and involved in prison escapes. Fasel escaped from Tavel prison in June 1979 and was recaptured in Geneva in December of that year. Bloch was arrested in Paris in May 1981 and extradited to Switzerland. On 26 July 1981, Fasel escaped from Bochuz penitentiary with five other prisoners, avoiding an appearance at his scheduled trial. The third accomplice was arrested in La Grande-Motte in November 1981 and extradited to Switzerland. Fasel was arrested in Paris in March 1982 and extradited to Switzerland in autumn 1982. The three men were tried in 1985. Bloch received a sentence of ten and a half years, the third accomplice twelve and a half years, and Fasel fourteen years. The Fribourg court annulled Fasel’s judgment in 1986, after which a retrial imposed a twelve-year sentence. Fasel later escaped from Witzwil penitentiary in March 1988. He was recaptured near Balaruc-Le-Vieux on 28 September 1988, extradited to Switzerland in May 1989 after proceedings in France concerning false documents, and released from prison on 30 August 1991. The group’s legacy has been discussed through journalism, political commentary, and memoir-like publications by two of its members. Daniel Bloch published La bande à Fasel: mythe et réalités ? in 1987, while Fasel published Droit de révolte later that year. These works helped preserve competing interpretations of the group, balancing its self-described political motives against the documented violence, arrests, prison escapes, and convictions. The supplied material does not establish a continuing organization, commercial activity, or current operational presence.

The Fasel Gang emerged in the context of Swiss radical and anti-authoritarian politics during the late 1970s, although its documented activities were criminal robberies rather than a conventional political organization. Jacques Fasel and Daniel Bloch met in 1977 at Bellechasse penitentiary, where both were serving sentences connected with conscientious objection. They later became associated with a third accomplice and were linked to a sequence of attacks in western Switzerland. The first major operation identified in the supplied historical account took place at the Jumbo store in Villars-sur-Glâne on 2 October 1978. A money transporter was killed during the robbery. The group was also attributed with an attack on the post office at La Coudre on 6 October 1978, an assault on a postal train in the Val de Travers on 27 November, and a robbery at the Hauterive post office on 28 November. Further operations included the State Bank of Fribourg branch in Courtepin on 6 December 1979 and the central post office in Neuchâtel on 20 December 1979. After the Neuchâtel robbery, the group reportedly escaped by boat across Lake Neuchâtel toward Marin-Epagnier. The group’s activities produced a distinctive public narrative. Fasel and his associates claimed to be acting in the name of anarchism and social justice. Fasel’s nickname, “Robin des Bolzes,” connected him with Fribourg’s lower town and gave the case a folkloric dimension. This political language was later contrasted with the violence of the attacks and the group’s repeated efforts to avoid prosecution. Fasel escaped from Tavel prison in June 1979 but was recaptured in Geneva in December. Bloch was arrested in Paris in May 1981 and extradited to Switzerland. Fasel escaped from Bochuz penitentiary on 26 July 1981 with five other prisoners, thereby avoiding his scheduled trial in August. The third accomplice was arrested at La Grande-Motte in November 1981 and extradited. Fasel was arrested in Paris in March 1982 and extradited to Switzerland in autumn 1982. The trial of the three men took place in 1985. Bloch was sentenced to ten and a half years, the third accomplice to twelve and a half years, and Fasel to fourteen years. Fasel’s judgment was annulled by the Fribourg court in 1986, and a new trial resulted in a twelve-year sentence. In March 1988, Fasel escaped from Witzwil penitentiary. He was recaptured near Balaruc-Le-Vieux on 28 September 1988. Following French proceedings involving false documents, he was extradited to Switzerland in May 1989 and was released on 30 August 1991. The historical record was subsequently shaped by publications from the participants themselves. Bloch’s La bande à Fasel: mythe et réalités ? appeared in 1987, followed later that year by Fasel’s Droit de révolte. These titles indicate the continuing dispute over whether the group should be understood principally through its political claims, its criminal conduct, or the mythology that developed around the case. The supplied sources do not document a formal dissolution date, a successor organization, or activity after the historical period described.

• 1991

  Fasel is released

  [1]Fasel Gangen.wikipedia.org

  Jacques Fasel was released from prison on 30 August.

• 1988

  Fasel escapes from Witzwil penitentiary

  [1]Fasel Gangen.wikipedia.org

  Fasel escaped in March and was recaptured near Balaruc-Le-Vieux on 28 September.

• 1987

  Members publish autobiographical accounts

  [1]Fasel Gangen.wikipedia.org

  Daniel Bloch published La bande à Fasel: mythe et réalités ?, followed by Jacques Fasel’s Droit de révolte.

• 1985

  Trial and prison sentences

  [1]Fasel Gangen.wikipedia.org

  The three defendants were convicted and received sentences ranging from ten and a half to fourteen years.

• 1981

  Fasel escapes from Bochuz penitentiary

  [1]Fasel Gangen.wikipedia.org

  On 26 July, Fasel escaped from Bochuz penitentiary with five other prisoners.

• 1979

  Further bank and post-office robberies

  [1]Fasel Gangen.wikipedia.org

  The group was linked to the Courtepin State Bank robbery and the Neuchâtel central post-office robbery.

• 1978

  Series of attacks begins

  [1]Fasel Gangen.wikipedia.org

  The group was attributed with robberies and attacks in Villars-sur-Glâne, La Coudre, the Val de Travers, and Hauterive. The Villars-sur-Glâne robbery resulted in the death of a money transporter.

• 1977

  Fasel and Bloch meet at Bellechasse penitentiary

  [1]Fasel Gangen.wikipedia.org

  Jacques Fasel and Daniel Bloch met while both were imprisoned at Bellechasse for conscientious objection.

Not a commercial brand. The Fasel Gang was presented by its members as an anarchist and socially motivated group, while authorities and historical accounts classified it as a criminal organization involved in armed robberies and attacks.

1. 1Fasel Gangen.wikipedia.org