What the Swiss think of moves to expel foreign criminals

Swiss voters will decide this weekend on a proposal to deport foreign criminals. The initiative was introduced by the rightwing Swiss People’s Party. Parliament issued a counter-proposal with a different definition of the crimes that would qualify a foreigner for expulsion. Unlike the initiative, it states that deportations cannot violate national or international law. swissinfo asked the Swiss public which option they prefer. (Julie Hunt, swissinfo.ch)

This content was published on November 22, 2010 - 16:10

1 minute

Julie worked as a radio reporter for BBC and independent radio all over the UK before joining swissinfo.ch's predecessor, Swiss Radio International, as a producer. After attending film school, Julie worked as an independent filmmaker before coming to swissinfo.ch in 2001. 

Julie Hunt

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Left rallies to defy anti-crime policy

This content was published on Nov 9, 2010 Leftwing groups staged street events in cities and towns across the country over the weekend as a senior Green Party politician challenged the figurehead of the rightwing Swiss People’s Party at a podium in Zurich. So far, supporters of a rightwing initiative to automatically deport foreign criminals clearly have the upper hand in the battle…

Will deportation vote lead to EU tension?

This content was published on Nov 7, 2010 The rightwing Swiss People’s Party collected more than 210,000 signatures – double the number needed – to bring the issue of the mandatory deportation of convicted criminals without Swiss citizenship to a nationwide vote. If one believes the polls taken before the campaign started – and bear in mind that the polls got it spectacularly…

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This content was published on Nov 3, 2010 Senior representatives of the initiative by the rightwing Swiss People’s Party; Christoph Blocher, and of parliament’s counter-proposal, Fulvio Pelli, were preaching to a 450-strong audience of the converted at Geneva University on Tuesday. Strangely enough, there was no-one taking part in the panel standing for those who reject both projects, notably the political centre-left. “Why…

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This content was published on Oct 31, 2010 Austrian political scientist Reinhold Gärtner tells swissinfo.ch that Switzerland, which has already voted to ban new minarets and is expected to demand tougher measures against foreigners committing serious offences, is no different to the rest of continent. Last November, the Swiss decided unexpectedly that minarets did not have a place on the skyline, a proposal…

What the Swiss think of moves to expel foreign criminals

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