Attempt at extortion and blackmail. If these are serious charges, it is a rather sad story that yesterday brought two fragile young adults before a judge. Frustrated by the control his father exercised over his life, and prompted by his auditory hallucinations, a Nyonnais had a funny idea: to make his father believe that he had been kidnapped, to attract his attention. This is how, at the beginning of July 2020, he drew up a plan with the complicity of his autistic girlfriend – met in an institution – and his older sister, who also suffers from mental disorders.
The two sisters first sent messages to the father asking for a ransom of 500 fr. If he didn’t obey or called the police, Jonathan* would be killed. They then sent a photo of the young man bound and gagged. Both incredulous and worried, the father contacted the police. “I suspected it was a set-up, but I mightn’t be sure,” he explains. And it was on seeing the police arrive that the three young people understood the seriousness of their acts.
First sentenced by criminal order to a 10-day suspended fine, the two lovers had opposed. Not the sister, the reason for her absence from court. In the end, the conviction and the court and lawyers’ costs, which amount to tens of thousands of francs, were upheld. The judge considered that, even lenient, a sanction was necessary.
