Death of a Nigerian in Switzerland
The case recalls the death of Black George Floyd in the USA: A Swiss appeals court upheld the acquittal of six police officers in the death of a Nigerian man in 2018. Following a three-day hearing, the judges in Renens, Lausanne confirmed the verdict of the lower court and freed the officers from the charge of negligent homicide.
The then 39-year-old Mike Ben Peter had resisted a drug control check in Lausanne, in western Switzerland, and died as a result of the violent arrest. During the arrest, the police officers had pressed the man lying on the ground. Several hours later, Ben Peter was dead in the hospital due to a heart attack.
The death of the Nigerian had initially received little attention. Following the global outcry over the death of George Floyd in May 2020 at the hands of the police in Minneapolis, the Swiss case was also brought into the spotlight. Floyd's case had caused massive protests against police violence against Blacks in the USA.
During the first trial in Lausanne in June of the previous year, a court had ruled that the six officers involved in the incident could not be held responsible for negligent homicide. The prosecution dropped its charges and referred to forensic analyses, which could not conclusively prove that the Nigerian had died as a result of police intervention.
This assessment was now also confirmed by a higher court. The officers were also acquitted of the charge of misconduct, which had been brought by Ben Peter's lawyer.
As after the first judgment was read out, dozens of people gathered spontaneously for a protest in front of the courthouse in Renens on Monday. They called for a large demonstration against police violence in Lausanne on Saturday.
despite the global outcry over the death of George Floyd, the Swiss appeals court upheld the acquittal of the six policemen involved in the death of Nigerian man Mike Ben Peter in 2018, ruling that there was no conclusive evidence linking his death to police intervention. following the acquittal, several Nigerians in Switzerland expressed their dissatisfaction and called for a demonstration against police violence.
