Swiss-Guatemalan ex-police chief sentenced to 15 years in prison
The dual national received his Swiss citizenship through his father. He is pictured at the Geneva courthouse on Friday morning.
Keystone
Erwin Sperisen, the former head of Guatemala’s police force, has been sentenced by Geneva's cantonal court to 15 years in prison for his "complicity" in the killing of seven inmates in 2006.
This content was published on
1 minute
SDA-ATS/cl
The verdict was handed down on Friday, and judges ordered that Sperisen will have to serve up to ten years in jail, minus the five years he spent in pre-trial detention.
He will remain under house arrest for the time being. His lawyer said that Sperisen would be appealing the verdict.
Sperisen’s re-trial began two weeks ago, after an appeal was partially upheld by the Swiss Federal Court in Lausanne last July.
According to the judges, his fault in the deaths is “extremely serious”, although there are still some “grey areas” regarding how the plan to commit the crimes came about.
A dual Swiss-Guatemalan citizen, Sperisen was accused of the extrajudicial killing of several prisoners between 2005 and 2006, while he was head of the central American country’s police force.
He was originally sentenced to life in prison by a Geneva court in 2014 for the crimes.
The legal proceedings have taken place in Switzerland because that is where Sperisen has lived since 2007, and the country does not extradite its citizens. The case is a rare example of Swiss justice trying a defendant for crimes committed in another country.
Most Read Swiss Abroad
More
Why cars still reign supreme in ‘rail-nation’ Switzerland
Beer sales in Switzerland watered down by bad weather
This content was published on
The past brewing year fell through in Switzerland, partly due to the bad weather. Beer sales shrank again. For the first time, per capita consumption fell below the 50 liter mark.
Compensation for Syrian after pregnant wife denied help on Swiss train
This content was published on
Switzerland’s Federal Court has partially upheld the appeal of a Syrian family being deported from Switzerland to Italy in 2014. The man now also receives compensation.
Swiss-EU negotiations: Cassis to meet Sefcovic in Bern
This content was published on
Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis will meet the Vice-President of the EU Commission, Maros Sefcovic, in Bern on Wednesday.
Heavy snowfall in Switzerland causes traffic chaos and accidents
This content was published on
The heavy snowfall late on Thursday and during the night into Friday led to traffic chaos and many accidents in many regions of Switzerland.
Chimpanzee behaviours passed down through generations
This content was published on
Some of the complex behaviours of chimpanzees have been passed down and refined over generations. These include the combination of several tools for foraging.
More than 600,000 rounds of Swiss sniper ammunition reach Ukraine
This content was published on
Sniper ammunition from Swiss P Defence reached Ukraine via a Polish company in July 2023, reported SRF Investigativ on Thursday, citing official information.
Switzerland launches national digital inclusion alliance
This content was published on
The Swiss government launched the Swiss Digital Inclusion Alliance on Thursday with the goal of giving as many people as possible access to digital services.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Former police chief’s murder appeal partially upheld
This content was published on
Erwin Sperisen, the former head of Guatemala’s national police, will be retried in Switzerland for his involvement in the killing of ten prisoners.
This content was published on
Sperisen allegedly asked his subordinates to make it seem as though ten detainees had clashed with police in three separate incidents before they were shot. According to the Geneva prosecutor’s office, Sperisen, because of his rank, played a decisive role in the killings. In one case, he allegedly carried out one of the executions himself.…
This content was published on
The Swiss-Guatemalan dual citizen was jailed for life in 2014 for involvement in the deaths of ten prison inmates in Guatemala between 2005-2006. But earlier this year judges ordered a retrial because his defence was compromised by irregularities in the original hearing. “We will be seeking damages of more than a million francs from canton…
This content was published on
The Geneva prosecutor’s office said on Friday that Erwin Sperisen had been arrested on the basis of evidence submitted at the end of last year by the Guatemalan authorities, and more recent investigations. Sperisen, who has joint Guatemalan and Swiss nationality, resigned from his post at the head of the national police in March 2007,…
This content was published on
Sperisen, a dual Swiss-Guatemalan citizen, had been sentenced to life imprisonment in 2014 after being found guilty of ordering the deaths of 10 prison inmates between 2005-2006 in the central American country. But earlier this year Swiss judges ordered a retrial because his defence was compromised by irregularities in the original hearing. The new trial…
This content was published on
Erwin Sperisen, the former head of Guatemala’s national police, is to be freed from prison in Switzerland ahead of his November trial.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.