Shortcomings in tackling terrorism, says Swiss supervisory body

The Office of the Attorney General should have done more to coordinate with cantonal authorities and communicated better, says its oversight body. Keystone / Anthony Anex

Cooperation between the federal government and cantons did not function optimally before and after the 2020 knife attacks in Morges and Lugano, says a prosecution oversight body.

In its report published on Tuesday, the Supervisory Authority for the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) made recommendations for improving cooperation between the OAG and the cantonal public prosecutors’ offices.

In the case of the Morges attack, it says the OAG should have better assessed how dangerous the jihadist was in the period leading up to his deadly attack, which cost the life of a young Portuguese man. The dual Turkish-Swiss national had been released two months before the murder after spending more than a year in pre-trial detention for an attempted fire and explosion at a petrol station.

The stabbing in Morges, in the western canton of Vaud, took place on September 12, 2020 in a kebab restaurant near Morges train station. The apparently random victim, who died at the scene, lived in the area and worked in a transport and removal company. He was with his girlfriend when the attacker came at them with a knife.

After a night on the run, the suspect was arrested the following day by cantonal police. He was subsequently sentenced to 20 years in jail.

The jihadist-inspired attack in Lugano, southern Switzerland, also took place in 2020 when a woman stabbed two people in a shopping centre. She was  sentenced to nine years in prison.

The Morges and Lugano cases revealed shortcomings in compliance with procedures for collaboration, coordination and communication in the management of jihadist terrorism cases, says the report.