Police in northern Switzerland announced on Tuesday that several people had been arrested and a criminal investigation had been opened in connection with the alleged death of a person in a “suicide capsule”.
The “Sarco” capsule, which has never been used before, is supposed to allow a person sitting in a reclining seat inside to press a button that injects nitrogen gas into the sealed chamber. The person is then supposed to fall asleep and die of suffocation within minutes.
Exit International, an assisted company suicide The Netherlands-based group said it was behind the 3D-printed device, which cost more than $1 million to develop.
Swiss law allows assisted suicide provided that the person ends their life without “outside help” and that those helping the person die do not do so for “any selfish motive,” according to a government website.
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A law firm informed the Schaffhausen cantonal prosecutor’s office that an “assisted suicide” involving Sarco had taken place on Monday near a forest cabin in Merishausen, the regional police said in a statement, adding that “several people” had been taken into custody and that the prosecutor’s office had opened an investigation into suspicion of incitement and complicity in suicide.
Dutch newspaper Volkskrant reported on Tuesday that police had arrested one of its photographers who wanted to take pictures of the use of the Sarco. Schaffhausen police said the photographer was being held at a police station, but declined to provide further details.
Contacted by The Associated Press, the newspaper declined to comment further.
Schaffhausen prosecutor Peter Sticher told Swiss newspaper Blick that several people had been arrested “so that they would not conspire among themselves or conceal evidence.”
Sticher said the operators knew the risks of being arrested.
“We warned them in writing. We told them that if they came to Schaffhausen and used Sarco, they would face criminal consequences,” he said.
In an email, the Dutch Foreign Ministry told the AP that it was in contact with the newspaper and Swiss officials.
“As always, we cannot interfere in the legal process of another country. At the same time, the Netherlands strongly defends freedom of the press. It is very important that journalists around the world can do their work freely,” he said.
Exit International, the company behind Sarco, said in a statement that a 64-year-old woman from the U.S. Midwest — without elaborating — who suffered from a “severe immune deficiency” died Monday afternoon near the German border while using the Sarco device.
Florian Willet, co-president of The Last Resort, a Swiss subsidiary of Exit International, was the only person present and described his death as “peaceful, quick and dignified.”
Dr. Philip Nitschke, the Australian physician who founded Exit International, previously told the AP that his organization had received advice from lawyers in Switzerland that Sarco would be legal to use in the country.
In a statement released Tuesday by Exit International, Nitschke said he was “pleased that the Sarco has performed exactly as it was designed … to allow for an elective, drug-free and peaceful death at the person’s own time of choosing.”
The claims by Nitschke and Exit International could not be independently verified.
Asked on Monday in the Swiss Parliament about the legal conditions of use of the Sarco capsule, Health Minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider suggested that its use would not be legal.
“On the one hand, it does not meet the requirements of the Product Safety Act and must therefore not be put into circulation,” she said. “On the other hand, the corresponding use of nitrogen is not compatible with the article on intended use of the Chemicals Act.”
In July, Blick reported that Sticher, the Schaffhausen state prosecutor, had written to Exit International’s lawyers to say that any operator of the suicide capsule could face criminal prosecution if it was used there – and any conviction could result in up to five years in prison.
Prosecutors in other Swiss regions have also indicated that the use of the suicide capsule could lead to legal proceedings.
Over the summer, a 54-year-old American woman with multiple health problems had planned to be the first person to use the device, but that plan was scrapped.
Switzerland is one of the only countries in the world where foreigners can legally travel to end their lives, and it has several organizations dedicated to helping people end their lives. But unlike other countries, including the Netherlands, Switzerland does not allow euthanasia, which involves medical professionals killing patients by lethal injection at their request and under specific circumstances.
Around 1,300 people died by assisted suicide in Switzerland in 2020, the BBC reports.
Some Swiss lawmakers believe the law is unclear and are seeking to fill what they call legal loopholes.
In 2021, Daniel Huerlimann, a legal expert and assistant professor at the University of St. Gallen, was commissioned by Sarco to investigate whether the use of the suicide capsule would violate Swiss laws.
He told the BBC his findings suggested the capsule “did not constitute a medical device” and would therefore not be covered by Swiss law on therapeutic products.
He also believes it would not contravene laws governing the use of nitrogen, weapons or product safety, the BBC reported.
“This means that the gondola is not covered by Swiss law,” he said.
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If you or someone you know is in emotional distress or suicidal crisis, you can reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988. You can also chat with the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline here.
For more information about mental health care resources and support, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Helpline can be reached Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. ET, at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264) or by email at info@nami.org.
The Swiss government refers questions about suicide prevention to a group called “Dargebotene Hand” (the offered hand).
