The Federal Court made the decision on Thursday in the case of an Afghan man who was sentenced in July 2018 to nine years behind bars for a series of charges, including the attempted premeditated murder of his wife. He appealed and that trial is still pending.
In January, the man wanted to hand over CHF4,000 ($4,100) to another person that he had earned while in prison. However, the money was confiscated to secure the costs of legal proceedings, following an order by the president of the criminal division of the high court of canton Nidwalden in central Switzerland.
The prisoner successfully appealed to the Federal Supreme Court. In their verdict, the Lausanne-based judges stated that the salary was an unseizable asset.
Because most prisoners are over-indebted, a seizure of wages would have an adverse effect on their motivation to work and thus on safety in the penal system, the court explained in its judgement.
Prisoners would also be unable to save anything for the time after their release, which would be detrimental to rehabilitation, the judges reasoned.
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Storm paralyses trains to popular Swiss tourist resort
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The railway line between Zweilütschinen and Grindelwald in central Switzerland is expected to remain closed until Friday following heavy rains.
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The long road to the Geneva Conventions of 1949
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Seventy years ago, Switzerland achieved a diplomatic coup in organising a major diplomatic conference in 1949 to revise the Geneva Conventions.
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A doctor from canton Basel-Country in north western Switzerland was acquitted of murder charges for helping a mentally-ill woman commit suicide.
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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.