First assisted suicide of a prisoner in Switzerland

A detainee ended his life for the first time in Switzerland with the assistance of a suicide aid organization, according to a report to be published in the Wochenzeitung newspaper on Thursday.

Source: AFP

The man, whose identity was not released, died on February 28, with the monitoring of the Exit organization. According to the report, he was being held in the Bostadel prison near Zurich.

Exit, questioned by AFP, indicated that “due to the protection of data and personality”, he was unable to provide information on the case.

The Justice Directorate of the canton of Zurich confirmed to the Swiss agency ATS that an assisted suicide had been carried out in the framework of the execution of sentences, but without communicating other details.

The judicial authorities recalled that In Switzerland, any discerning person can choose the manner and time of his death. and that this right also applies to detainees.

The law establishes that “Only the one who ‘driven by a selfish motive’ provides assistance to someone’s suicide is condemnable.”

Even so, the practice of assisted suicide is subject to the codes of medical ethics and to organizations such as Exit, which has its own limits (age, illness), more restrictive than the penal code.

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Suicide is usually carried out in the home of the person or a relative. In some cantons it can also be practiced in nursing homes or medical homes and in some hospitals.

In 2018, a detainee interned for life, Peter Vogt, asked in a television report to receive assistance from Exit to die, which generated great debate in the country.

Vogt, a repeat rapist, served his sentence years ago, but remains hospitalized for the rest of his days, according to a radical measure of the Swiss penal code approved by referendum in 2004, because he is considered extremely dangerous due to his mental disorders .

“It is more humane to want to commit suicide than to be buried alive for the next few years,” Peter Vogt wrote to AFP at the time, adding that he suffered from various illnesses, including kidney and heart failure.

The authorities asked the opinion of the Swiss Center for Competence in Enforcement of Criminal Sanctions (CSCSP), which replied that assisted suicide in prisons should be possible, under certain conditions, according to the “right to self-determination” of individuals.