Swiss police arrest several people for suspected death by “suicide capsule”

The never-before-used suicide capsule, Sarco, is designed so that a person inside presses a button that injects nitrogen gas into the sealed chamber. The person is then supposed to fall asleep and die of asphyxiation within a few minutes.

The public prosecutor’s office of the canton of Schaffhausen was informed by a law firm that an assisted suicide using the Sarco capsule had taken place near a forest hut in Merishausen on Monday, the police said in a statement.

It was said that “several people” had been taken into custody and the public prosecutor’s office had launched an investigation on suspicion of incitement and aiding and abetting suicide.

The Dutch newspaper Volkskrant reported on Tuesday that the police had arrested one of their photographers who wanted to photograph the Sarco’s deployment.

The Schaffhausen police said the photographer was being held at a police station, but declined to provide any further information.

When asked by the Associated Press (AP), the newspaper declined further comment.

Exit International, a Netherlands-based assisted suicide organization, has said it is behind the 3D-printed device, which cost more than a million dollars to develop.

In a statement, the group said that a 64-year-old woman from the US Midwest – further details were not given – who suffered from “severe immune deficiency” died on Monday afternoon near the German border as a result of use of the Sarco device.

Florian Willet, co-president of The Last Resort, a Swiss branch of Exit International, was said to be the only person present and described her death as “peaceful, quick and dignified”.

Dr. Philip Nitschke, an Australian-born and trained doctor behind Exit International, previously told AP that his organization had received advice from lawyers in Switzerland that the use of the Sarco was legal in the country.

In Exit International’s statement on Tuesday, Dr. Nitschke said he was “delighted that the Sarco has worked exactly as it was designed … to enable a voluntary, peaceful death without medication at a time of the patient’s choosing.”

According to a Swiss government website, assisted suicide is permitted under Swiss law as long as the person takes their own life without “external assistance” and the person helping them die does not do so for “selfish motives.”

Switzerland is one of the few countries in the world where foreigners can travel to legally end their lives. In addition, there are numerous organizations in Switzerland dedicated to supporting people who commit suicide.

Some legislators in Switzerland argue that the law is unclear and are trying to close so-called legal loopholes.

On Monday, Health Minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider was questioned in the Swiss parliament about the legal conditions for the use of the Sarco capsule and said that its use was not legal.

“On the one hand, it does not meet the requirements of the Product Safety Act and therefore may not be placed on the market,” she said.

“On the other hand, the corresponding use of nitrogen is not compatible with the purpose article in the Chemicals Act.”

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