Federal prosecutor Stefan Blättler says he wants to see a Swiss leniency programme for mafia members.
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“Key witnesses would help us fight the mafia,” Blättler said in an interview with TamediaExternal link newspapers on Friday. He wants to re-open discussions about reducing sentences for mafia members who agree to collaborate with the authorities in criminal procedures.
“These witnesses do not have to be acquitted,” Blättler added, arguing that a mitigation of five years in prison instead of 15 would get them to talk and help with investigations.
After being elected as federal prosecutor last year, Blättler has decided to focus on investigations into the war in Ukraine and the fight against the mafia, which he says cannot be entirely left in the hands of the Italians.
In the interview he said the responsibility cannot be always transferred to Italy, because “an increasing number of suspects have Swiss passports”. Despite admitting that leniency is not a panacea, Blättler believed it would help fight the mafia, as is the case in Italy.
Since the mafia is a closed society, it’s particularly hard to send in undercover agents, especially Swiss ones. So having people on the inside could prove successful: these would be mafia members who have been charged but have now decided to collaborate with the police. “In Italy, these pentiti, the repentant, are of great use to law enforcement,” he explained.
Blättler also admitted that the idea of reduced sentences is morally unattractive, but he said Switzerland has two choices: “Either do nothing or make concessions that affect our sense of justice.”
The federal prosecutor’s request is not new. Blättler’s predecessor, Michael Lauber, suggested the same move, but the Swiss parliament rejected leniency in 2017. “That was 2017, now we are in 2023,” Blättler said.
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