He hadn’t given any sign of life for days. The alleged “disappearance” of the municipal secretary of Zermatt, who had caused a stir and above all fueled speculation in the German-speaking press for a week, has found its explanation.
Daniel Anrig, 50, former commander of the Pontifical Guard, is actually in pre-trial detention, Max Imfeld-Frischknecht said on Monday., his lawyer, to the catholic news agency kath.chin a “purely personal matter” which “has no place in the public square”.
According to his lawyer, he is accused of having uttered threats to a third party after having himself been the subject of threats. “There was no violence and even fewer injuries,” he said, adding that this case has “nothing to do with Zermatt.”
The community was aware
The president of the municipality of Zermatt had been informed of Daniel Anrig’s detention since November 14, adds Max Imfeld-Frischknecht, who denounces “deliberate misinformation from the media”.
Revealed by the Walliser Bote last week, the “disappearance” of the municipal secretary had been described in several newspapers as “mysterious”, the man having apparently left no trace. Speculation fueled in particular by ambiguous statements from the president of the town and by the fact that a search had been carried out by the police at his home.
On Saturday, however, his lawyer had broke the silence to assert for the first time that his client “was doing well, given the circumstances” and had withdrawn for personal reasons – as his contract ended at the end of December. Before, this Monday, to give more details. We now know where he is.
The municipal secretary of Zermatt was previously commander of the cantonal police of Glarus and commander of the Pontifical Swiss Guard from 2008 to 2014, hired by Benedict XVI but dismissed by Francis. In 2015, he also landed a senior position with the Zurich cantonal police.