Police in Switzerland have detained several people and opened a criminal case in connection with the death of a 64-year-old woman in a new “suicide capsule”.
Content warning: this article contains references to a method of suicide
The Sarco capsule, which has never been used before, is designed to allow a person inside to push a button that injects nitrogen gas into the sealed chamber. The person is then supposed to fall asleep and die by suffocation in a few minutes.
In a statement, police said that prosecutors were informed by a law firm that an assisted suicide involving the Sarco capsule had taken place on Monday near a forest cabin in Merishausen, northern Switzerland.
“Several people” were taken into custody and prosecutors opened an investigation on suspicion of incitement and accessory to suicide.
Dutch newspaper Volkskrant reported that police had detained one of its photographers who wanted to take pictures of the use of the Sarco.
Exit International, an assisted suicide group based in the Netherlands, has said it is behind the 3D-printed device that cost more than $1m (£747,440) to develop.
In a statement, the group said a woman from the US Midwest – it did not specify further – who had suffered from “severe immune compromise” had died on Monday afternoon near the German border using the Sarco device.
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Florian Willet, co-president of The Last Resort, a Swiss affiliate of Exit International, was the only person present and described her death as “peaceful, fast and dignified”, the group added.
Dr Philip Nitschke, an Australian-born doctor behind Exit International, has previously said that his organisation received advice from Swiss lawyers that using the Sarco would be legal in the country.
Dr Philip Nitschke, the Australian-born doctor behind Exit International. Pic: Reuters
In the Exit International statement on Tuesday, Dr Nitschke said he was “pleased that the Sarco had performed exactly as it had been designed… to provide an elective, non-drug, peaceful death at the time of the person’s choosing”.
Swiss law allows assisted suicide so long as the person takes his or her life with no “external assistance” and those who help the person die do not do so for “any self-serving motive”.
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Switzerland is among the only countries in the world where foreigners can travel to legally end their lives. It is home to several organisations dedicated to helping people achieve this.
However, some politicians have argued the law is unclear and sought to close what they say are legal loopholes.
Health minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider suggested the use of the Sarco would not be legal.
“On one hand, it does not fulfil the demands of the product safety law, and as such, must not be brought into circulation,” she told the Swiss parliament.
“On the other hand, the corresponding use of nitrogen is not compatible with the article on purpose in the chemicals law.”
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.