Convicted cannabis dealer and grower Bernard Rappaz has been taken back to prison after an appeal he lodged at the Federal Court in Lausanne was turned down.
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Rappaz had called for a suspension of a prison sentence handed down to him by Valais authorities until his request for a pardon was dealt with in November by the canton’s parliament.
The Federal Court in Lausanne ruled on Thursday that the necessary conditions for a suspension of the sentence did not exist.
Rappaz had been under house arrest since the end of July after a hunger strike that left the authorities uncertain about what action they should take.
He had been sentenced to five years and eight months for possession of 51 tons of hemp, a crime committed between 1997 and 2001.
Shortly after being put under house arrest, Rappaz was charged with other offences that allegedly took place between 2002 and 2006. They include falsifying documents, money laundering, violation of drug laws and issues relating to social benefits.
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Pot dealer Rappaz faces new charges
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He began his current sentence of five years and eight month for possession of 51 tons of hemp, a crime committed between 1997 and 2001. Rappaz called his sentence an “unjust and colossal punishment”. Rappaz, who began a hunger strike shortly after he was jailed and only ended it on July 21, is now being…
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“I’m happy to be home,” Rappaz told the Swiss News Agency on Thursday. He left the Bern hospital where he had been staying late Wednesday night. Rappaz’s property has been cordoned off and he will be under constant surveillance while under house arrest. His first meal at home consisted of salad, lentils, potatoes, cheese and…
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Bernard Rappaz is now in Bern’s Insel hospital and doctors have been told by Esther Waeber-Kalbermatten, a member of the Valais government who is responsible for the dossier, to force-feed him to keep him alive. She made the decision after consultation with the Swiss Federal Court in Lausanne, which is to consider an appeal by…
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Swiss tobacco production is on the decline; only about 400 farmers still grow this labour-intensive crop. Most of them are in the Broye Valley stretching across cantons Vaud and Fribourg. Their production covers only a small share of the tobacco consumed in Switzerland. (Text and images, Thomas Kern/swissinfo.ch)
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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.