Four arrested following first use of ‘suicide pod’ in Switzerland

The Swiss police has detained several people after a futuristic sci-fi-looking suicide pod which allows it’s occupants to attempt suicide was used for the first time. Police in the northern canton of Schaffhausen bordering Germany said the so-called “Sarco” capsule had been used in a wood in the municipality of Merishausen on Monday.

Schaffhausen prosecutors said several people have been prosecuted for “inducing and aiding and abetting suicide”, as said by police statement which stated several people were arrested, however, it did not identify any of them or the deceased.

According to a representative from the group that created the capsule, The Last Resort, stated that the deceased was a 64-year-old American woman who was suffering from a complicated immune system.

Regarding more details about the detainees, the spokesperson said that four of them are  Florian Willet, the co-president of The Last Resort, a Dutch journalist, and two Swiss citizens. According to the spokesperson, Willet was the only person present with the woman’s when the woman committed suicide.

According to the statement given out by The Last Resort, Willet states that the death was “peaceful, fast and dignified.” The spokesperson from Last Resort said that the woman had undergone psychiatric tests before she committed suicide.A representative of the prosecutors said Schaffhausen refused to elaborate or confirm information regarding the fact that there were four prisoners.

Switzerland has remained a hub for people with assisted suicide because legal laws of the country allows it, and The Last Resort stated that legal advice showed that the capsule could be used.The Swiss minister of health Elisabeth Baume-Schneider, stated on Monday, that the capsule does not conform to the provisions of the product safety law as it uses nitrogen which is unlawful.

You might also be interested in – Indian Railways lays tracks equal to Switzerland’s network; new super app on the way