Retired doctor Pierre Beck appearing at a court in Geneva in 2020.
Keystone / Martial Trezzini
The former vice-president of Swiss euthanasia organisation Exit faces yet another potential court appearance to answer for providing lethal drugs to a woman.
This content was published on
1 minute
swissinfo.ch/mga
Geneva prosecutors will ask the appeals court to rule once again on the case of Pierre Beck following a string of other hearings.
Beck helped the healthy 86-year-old woman die alongside her ill husband in 2017 by providing a lethal dose of a sedative and preanesthetic pentobarbital.
The retired doctor was originally found guilty of breaking the Swiss Narcotics Act, but two subsequent court hearings cleared his name.
“The mere fact of a physician prescribing pentobarbital to a person in good health, capable of discernment and wishing to die, does not constitute behavior punishable by the law on narcotics,” read the court last court verdict issued in February.
But The Genevan public prosecutor’s office on Thursday said it has asked the Federal Supreme Court to take another look at the case.
More
More
First assisted suicide by Swiss prison inmate
This content was published on
A Swiss prison inmate has reportedly ended his life with the help of an assisted suicide organisation.
Living longer: What do you think about the longevity trend?
The longevity market is booming thanks in part to advances in the science of ageing. What do you think of the idea of significantly extending human lifespan?
Swiss cantons spared duty to create new traveller transit sites
This content was published on
Swiss cantons will no longer be formally obliged by the government to create new transit sites for the travelling community.
Swiss politicians bemoan limited access to EU treaty details
This content was published on
Protests that only a few Swiss parliamentarians will be able to read the contents of a new agreement negotiated with the EU.
This content was published on
For the first time, most Swiss residents favour withdrawing their pension pot as a lump-sum over regular annuity payments.
This content was published on
The cost of buying a home in Switzerland rose by 4.1% year-on-year in the last quarter and by 0.7% compared to the previous three months.
Landslide threatened Swiss village of Brienz faces many more evacuations
This content was published on
The population of the Swiss village of Brienz/Brinzauls isn warned to expect more landslide evacuations in the coming years.
This content was published on
Swiss International Air Lines will avoid Pakistani airspace until further notice due to rising tension between India and Pakistan.
This content was published on
In August last year, the group warned that legal hurdles to euthanasia in other countries were making it increasingly difficult to offer its services to people outside of Switzerland. At the time, some 2,600 EXIT members lived abroad. The organisation asked members if it should stop its services at Swiss borders. But according to the…
Membership in Swiss assisted-suicide organisations reaches record high
This content was published on
A growing number of people are choosing to join assisted-suicide organisations in Switzerland. One of the factors is the aging society.
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.