Use of suicide capsule Request for pre-trial detention for one person after "Sarco" use
In the canton of Schaffhausen, a person died for the first time on Monday using the controversial "Sarco" suicide capsule. Now one person is reportedly in custody.
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- On Monday, a person died for the first time using the "Sarco" suicide capsule.
- Several people were subsequently arrested.
- On Thursday morning, the public prosecutor's office announced that an application for pre-trial detention had been made against one of the arrested persons.
The controversial "Sarco" suicide capsule was used for the first time on Monday in a forest hut in the canton of Schaffhausen. One person took their own life with the aid of the capsule. The Schaffhausen police subsequently arrested several people.
Following the use of the Sarco suicide capsule in Merishausen SH, the Schaffhausen public prosecutor's office requested that one person be remanded in custody. All other arrested persons were released from custody.
The first Schaffhausen public prosecutor Peter Sticher confirmed the request for pre-trial detention to "Keystone-SDA" and "Blick" on Thursday. He did not give any further details, such as the number of people arrested. The competent court has up to 48 hours to process the application.
The public prosecutor's office initiated criminal proceedings against those arrested for incitement and aiding and abetting suicide.
Circles within the organization behind Sarco, "The Last Resort", reported this week that four people had been arrested. In addition to co-president Florian Willet, two lawyers and a Dutch photographer are said to have been arrested.
On Monday, Sticher was informed by a lawyer that the suicide capsule had been used in the forest near Merishausen. The emergency services immediately deployed recovered the capsule and took the deceased to Zurich for an autopsy.
64-year-old American woman died
According to the euthanasia organization "The Last Resort", a 64-year-old American woman took her own life in the capsule. She had been suffering from the consequences of an immune deficiency for many years. Sarco worked as planned and brought the woman a drug-free death.
"The Last Resort" announced this summer that the death capsule would be used in Switzerland this year. The public prosecutor's offices of several cantons then announced that they would initiate proceedings if the capsule was used in their cantons - including Schaffhausen.
At exactly the same time as Sarco was first used in the Merishausen forest, Health Minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider (SP) said during question time in parliament that the suicide capsule was not legally compliant.