Police and doctor charged with causing death of prisoner
A doctor and three policemen have gone on trial in canton Zurich charged with causing the death through negligence of a Palestinian detainee. The victim, who was being deported, suffocated after being gagged to prevent him crying out.
The prosecution has called for five-month suspended prison sentences for all the defendants. Lawyers said the doctor and the policemen should have foreseen the possibility of a fatality because the detainee had complained he was unable to breathe through his nose.
The defence called for an acquittal, arguing the death could not be foreseen by the policemen. The death could have also been the result of a heart attack and not suffocation.
Human rights activists staged a demonstration outside the court in Bülach to protest against deportations.
The incident occurred in 1999 when the Palestinian detainee was being put on a plane in Zurich to be deported to Egypt. He had been convicted of drug trafficking and had been ordered to leave the country.
Under customary procedure, police strapped the detainee in a wheelchair and taped his mouth to prevent him shouting.
The prosecutor said the doctor assured the police the procedure posed no health risk for the detainee. But the victim lost consciousness within a few minutes. The policemen allegedly waited too long before removing the gag and starting resuscitation attempts.
The police authorities said the officers acted according to regulations and no laws were broken. They have however changed the regulations for deportations since the incident and police are no longer allowed to gag detainees who are being expelled.
Police also have to hire private charter planes for deportations. The national airline, Swissair, refuses to let detainees on board.
The verdict is expected next week.
In a separate case in February, a Nigerian detainee died in unclear circumstances while police were about to deport him.
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