Prison system Zurich court rejects prison leave for grandfather
The Zurich prison system has banned a 56-year-old inmate from attending his eldest grandson's bar mitzvah celebration in Basel. The administrative court has now ruled that this decision was legal. Prison leave is only allowed for one's own children.
22.07.2024, 10:32
SDA
The prison's vacation guidelines only allow prison leave if the celebration is for the prisoner's own child. Grandchildren are not considered a reason for leave - even if it is a religious celebration such as a bar mitzvah.
The 56-year-old grandfather had applied for 48 hours' leave in 2022 to attend the family celebration at the synagogue in Basel. He argued that he had played a formative role in his grandson's religious upbringing.
In addition, it was part of his religious duties as a grandfather to be called up at the bar mitzvah to say special blessings. Moreover, he would be conditionally released from prison in around three months anyway. The man was behind bars for multiple counts of commercial fraud.
Still a flight risk
However, the Zurich prison system rejected his application. This was mainly because it still suspected that the grandfather was a flight risk despite his imminent release. After his conviction in 2013, the man had gone into hiding in Greece and England for several years in order to avoid going to prison.
It could therefore be assumed that the man would flee again in order to avoid serving the rest of his sentence. The prison service found it "not proportionate" to send a police guard into the synagogue. An ankle bracelet was also not a solution, as it could not prevent an escape across the border.
The Administrative Court is of the same opinion, as can be seen from the recently published ruling. The ban on parole was reasonable for the 56-year-old. The public interest in the orderly execution of the sentence was more important than the private interest in practising his religion.
The man was released from prison as planned in January 2023. The eldest grandson's bar mitzvah took place without a blessing from his grandfather.
