(Reuters) – Swiss police have arrested several people after a controversial futuristic-looking capsule designed to allow its occupant to commit suicide was used for the first time, authorities said Tuesday.
Police in the northern canton of Schaffhausen, which borders Germany, said the so-called “Sarco” capsule had been deployed in a forest in the municipality of Merishausen on Monday.
The Schaffhausen public prosecutor’s office has opened criminal proceedings against several people for “aiding and abetting suicide,” according to a police statement, which added that several people had been arrested, without giving details about them or the deceased.
A spokesman for the group behind the pod, The Last Resort, said the deceased was a 64-year-old American woman who suffered from a severely compromised immune system.
Florian Willet, co-president of The Last Resort, was among the four detained, along with a Dutch journalist and two Swiss, the spokesman said. Willet was the only other person present when the woman took her life, he added.
In a statement released by The Last Resort, Willet had described the death as “peaceful, quick and dignified.”
The Last Resort spokesman said the woman had undergone psychiatric evaluations before taking her own life.
A spokesman for the Schaffhausen public prosecutor’s office declined to provide details or confirm that four people had been arrested.
The sleek, aerodynamic “Sarco” causes death when its occupant releases nitrogen gas inside, reducing the amount of oxygen to lethal levels. It is the brainchild of Philip Nitschke, an Australian doctor famous for his work on assisted suicide since the 1990s.
Switzerland has been a magnet for advocates of assisted suicide because of laws making it legal there, and The Last Resort says legal advice received indicated it could be rolled out.
The capsule has generated considerable media attention and debate among authorities over whether they would allow it.
Swiss Health Minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider said on Monday that the capsule does not meet the requirements of the product safety law, and that its use of nitrogen does not comply with standards.
Editor’s note: If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts or mental health issues, please call the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988 to connect with a trained counselor, or visit the website at 988 LifelineFor suicide prevention and support resources in Spain and Latin America, visit this website.
Add Comment