Peter Baumann

SWI
Doctor sentenced over assisted suicides
July 6, 2007

— Excerpt

Peter Baumann was given a three-year prison sentence, two years of which are suspended, by Basel criminal court on Friday.

Switzerland has one of the most relaxed laws on assisted suicide in Europe, but calls have been mounting for the practice to be subject to more supervision.

Swiss law tolerates assisted suicide where the act is committed by the patient and in which the helper, who might for example provide a needle of morphine and then leave the room, has no direct interest. Direct active euthanasia – for example injecting a patient with a view to ending their life – remains illegal.

Baumann was accused of intentional killing in addition to several counts of inciting and assisting someone to commit a suicide. The prosecution had demanded seven years, with the defence calling for an acquittal…