Latest News
Six Swiss Policemen Face Manslaughter Charges Over 2018 Death of Nigerian
Six Swiss policemen are facing manslaughter charges over the death of a Nigerian man who died after being pinned to the ground by officers for several minutes during an arrest in 2018.
The officers, who have not been named, are accused of “homicide by neglect” in the death of 39-year-old Mike Ben Peter Amadasun. They all deny the charges and will seek acquittal at a trial that opens on Monday in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Amadasun died on June 12, 2018, after being arrested by police in the town of Morges, near Lausanne. He had been stopped by police after they received a report of a man acting erratically.
According to reports, Amadasun resisted arrest and was pinned to the ground by officers for several minutes. He was later taken to hospital, where he died from a heart attack.
Amadasun’s death sparked protests and calls for reforms to the Swiss police force. The case has drawn comparisons to the death of George Floyd in the United States in 2020, which also led to protests and calls for police reform.
The trial of the six Swiss police officers is expected to last several weeks. If convicted, they could face a maximum prison sentence of three years.
Background Story
The death of Mike Ben Peter Amadasun in 2018 was a tragic event that had a profound impact on his family and friends. The six police officers who are facing manslaughter charges are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
However, the case has raised important questions about the use of force by police and the need for reforms to ensure that such a tragedy does not happen again.
The trial of the six Swiss policemen is a chance for the Swiss justice system to hold them accountable for their actions and to send a message that the use of excessive force by police will not be tolerated.
It is also an opportunity for the Swiss government to address the underlying issues that led to Amadasun’s death and to take steps to prevent similar tragedies from happening in the future.
The case, which has some similarities with the May 2020 killing of Floyd in the US, is one of four where Black men have died during police interventions in the canton of Vaud since 2016.
But unlike Floyd’s killing, for which officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of murder in 2021 partly based on mobile phone footage showing him kneeling on the victim’s neck, there is no footage of the incident that allegedly contributed to Ben Peter’s death.