Parliamentary immunity lifted in alleged corruption case
Miesch (centre) was given a friendly farewell in parliament in 2015.
Keystone
A former Swiss parliamentarian has been stripped of his immunity, paving the way for a legal investigation into corruption allegations over lobbying efforts by Kazakhstan.
It is a first in the parliamentary history of modern-day Switzerland.
A committee of the House of Representatives on Wednesday followed the Senate committee, lifting the immunity from prosecution of Christian Miesch, who sat in parliamentExternal link for the rightwing Swiss People’s Party until 2015.
He is suspected of accepting money – CHF4,635 ($4,760) – from a lobbyist in return for trying to serve the interests of Kazakhstan in parliament.
Initially, the committee had refused to move on Miesch, arguing his involvement was not significant enough to justify lifting his immunity.
Miesch has denied any wrongdoing.
Two other parliamentarians suspected of passing on confidential documents to a Kazakh lobbyist and accepting a paid trip were also involved in the case but did not have their immunity lifted.
As for the lobbyist, Thomas Borer, a former Swiss ambassador, he also faces a criminal investigation.
The Swiss chapter of the non-governmental Transparency InternationalExternal link group welcomed Wednesday’s decision by parliament. It said the allegations are serious and deserve a thorough examination.
Related Stories
Popular Stories
More
Swiss Politics
United States’ ‘second lady’ observes Swiss training system
Switzerland could produce up to 5Mt of emissions annually by 2050
This content was published on
Two to five megatonnes of CO2 equivalents per year: this is the amount of greenhouse gas emissions that Switzerland is still expected to produce annually in 2050, a new study shows.
US tariffs putting 100,000 jobs at risk in Switzerland
This content was published on
US tariffs of 39% on Swiss imports will directly affect 100,000 jobs, mainly in the watchmaking, machinery, metals, and food industries, economiesuisse warns.
This content was published on
Switzerland has released CHF4 million (nearly $5 million) to help Sudan, which has been severely affected by famine and cholera.
Switzerland rejects new Israeli settlements in Palestinian territory
This content was published on
Switzerland says it rejects the announced construction of thousands of housing units in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian West Bank.
Larry Finck and André Hoffmann named interim co-chairs of WEF board
This content was published on
The WEF also revealed an investigation commissioned by the board has cleared its founder Klaus Schwab and his wife of accusations made by anonymous whistleblowers.
Vice-president of German parliament in favour of Switzerland joining EU
This content was published on
The vice-president of the Bundestag says his country should support closer ties between Switzerland and the European Union given the customs conflict with the United States.
Lindt & Sprüngli reportedly considering shifting Easter bunny production to US
This content was published on
Swiss chocolate manufacturer Lindt & Sprüngli could relocate the production of its gold-wrapped Easter bunnies to the US in order to circumvent the import tariffs imposed by the Trump administration.
Swiss petition launched against curbing 30km/h speed limit
This content was published on
The Traffic Club of Switzerland (TCS) has submitted a petition to the Federal Chancellery, challenging the 30km/h speed limit on local roads.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Questions swirl on outside influence in Swiss parliament
This content was published on
Concerns are growing about foreign influence in parliament, amid media reports showing a widening circle of power brokers received financial perks from lobbyists for Kazakh special interests.
This content was published on
In an interview published in the German language daily Südostschweiz on Saturday, Baumann claimed that she had informed centre-right Radical Party parliamentarian Christa Markwalder about her links with her Kazakh client. She also said that she had told Markwalder about all modifications made to the parliamentary questions, including the removal of the term “human rights”. …
This content was published on
Several recent scandals have highlighted efforts to influence Swiss parliamentarians by the regime of president Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan.
This content was published on
“I don’t judge single cases, but this is certainly not lobbying,” says lobbyist Andreas Hugi, president of the Swiss Association of PR agencies (BPRA), when asked for his opinion on the lobbying activities of former Swiss ambassador Thomas Borer in Kazakhstan’s interest. The country has been under the tight grip of President Nursultan Nazarbayev and…
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.