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Activists torch Novartis CEO's home, steal mother's ashes
The Austrian vacation home of Novartis CEO Daniel Vasella (photo) was set on fire early Monday morning. Austrian police have not announced any conclusive findings, but Novartis spokeswoman Isabel Guerra has revealed that there was a professional fire accelerant found at the scene. According to a CNBC report, an arsonist lit both sides of the front store and set it afire. Vasella has decided to sell the property.
The lodge, located in Bach, Austria, is the latest target in a string of attacks on the CEO, Novartis and its employees. Last week, the graves of Vasella's parents were desecrated. The perpetrators also stole an urn containing his mother's ashes and left the message "Drop HLS Now" on her headstone. HLS is Huntington Life Sciences, a U.K.-based company that offers animal testing services. Novartis maintains that it no longer contracts HLS and has not worked with them for years.
About three weeks ago, graffiti slogans attacking Vasella and Novartis were written on the church in Vasella's village of Risch in central Switzerland and messages have been left on the road near Vasella's home. According to CNBC, one of those messages read, "Vasella is a killer. We are watching you. Death to Vasella. We'll be back." Attacks on company property and the houses and cars of employees have also increased in recent months.
Novartis spokesman Satoshi Sugimoto said the company believes British-based animal rights activists are responsible for all of the attacks. "These groups are against animal testing, which is required in our industry. This is something we try to avoid whenever possible, but it is something we have to do by law," spokesman Satoshi Sugimoto said (as quoted by Reuters).
- here's more from Reuters
- see the AP article
- more from CNBC
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Comments
These people aren't "activists". They are terrorists.
What disgusting individulas -why aren't they in prision?
A number of the SHAC group have been sent to prison.
According to them Vivisection is immoral but not arson, planting explosive devices under cars or attacking individuals with baseball bats
Please - the SHAC activists were NOT violent, yet were given lengthy federal prison terms as terrorist under an unconstitutional new law designed to put a chill on free speech.
Convicted violent extremists should be in prison, NOT the SHAC activists who are still there.
I'd love to see those guys get something nasty like Ebola or even simple Hep C and be unable to get hold of meds... That would change their point of view very quickly.
This is awful and is a world wide problem. The book, "The Animal Research War" tells the story well.
Free speech and opinion is productive> These people are in the same category as the whiny Columbine shooters -- losers who can't figure out any other options for expression. The causes they support are the issue -- the actions they take are what defines them -- and their psychoses.
"graves of Vasella's parents were desecrated" !! That is low and only the lowest of being would do such a thing! They are lowly scummy terrorists and should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law!!
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