updated2. June 2022, 06:05
Videos from Zurich prison show inmates bragging about smuggled cell phones and drugs – cocaine and marijuana – in their cells. 20 minutes was able to talk to an ex-con.
- von
- Lynn Sachs
- Monira Djurdjevic
- Daniel Krahenbuehl
In the videos, inmates pose with drugs and show how they use their cell phones.
Private
“When I was new in prison, a warden came up to me and said I should let him know if I needed anything,” says an ex-inmate* who wishes to remain anonymous. Fearing it could be a trap, he initially refrained from doing so. “A short time later I found out that other prisoners had also gotten their hands on cell phones and drugs in this way.” After all, he too “ordered” a mobile phone from the supervisor. «An acquaintance met the warden and handed him the money. A short time later I had my cell phone in the cell and was able to contact my family and friends,” says the man.
In total, the guard is said to have smuggled around twenty mobile phones into the prison. He asked for between 1,500 and 3,500 francs per device. He is said to have demanded CHF 500 per prisoner for smuggling in drugs. “He didn’t buy the drugs himself. Friends of the prisoners had to do this. They then handed the goods over to the warden.”
Raid put an end to smuggling
For several months, such prohibited objects were imprisoned. At the beginning of April it was over. The whole thing was discovered during a raid. According to the ex-inmate, at least one employee should have been released. On request, the Zurich Justice Department can confirm that prohibited items were seized during cell checks in Zurich prison at the beginning of April. “It is not yet possible to say whether and to what extent employees are involved,” says spokeswoman Elena Tankovski. For privacy reasons, the office does not want to comment further on individual cases.
There is a great deal of movement in and out of any prison. “This means that the fight against smuggling is an ongoing task for all prisons,” explains Tankovski. If one becomes aware of serious misconduct by employees, personnel-related measures can be taken up to and including termination of the employment relationship. “If there are indications of criminally relevant behavior by detainees or employees, the office will file a criminal complaint in the case of official offenses or, in the case of criminal offenses – if the office is entitled to file a criminal complaint – it will file a criminal complaint,” says Tankovski.
“Pre-trial detention is undermined”
Criminal law expert David Gibor considers the illegal actions of the prison guards involved to be unworthy of a constitutional state. According to Gibor, corrupt officials are also obviously at work there, and this in one of the most sensitive areas of the state’s monopoly on the use of force. One is inevitably reminded of autocratic states, which are pervaded by mafia-like structures, arbitrariness, corruption and bribery: “It is highly reprehensible when government employees who are responsible for monitoring take advantage of the plight and predicament of prisoners in a prison in order to Crimes such as drug trafficking and horrendous prices to supplement their taxpayer-funded civil servant wages. » In addition, custody would be useless if prisoners were equipped with mobile phones, according to defense lawyer Gibor. The reason for this: “Pre-trial detention is primarily intended to prevent suspects from destroying evidence or influencing third parties such as witnesses and injured parties in their process behavior.
If prisoners in pre-trial detention can make unsupervised calls and thus instruct those involved in the crime, one of the main purposes of pre-trial detention is almost undermined.” According to Gibor, the detainees should not be blamed: “The sometimes lengthy imprisonment naturally means that people use the opportunities available to regain even a small piece of freedom.”
“And now that the prisoners have been able to speak extensively with accomplices and other parties involved in the proceedings, with the friendly support of the state, and thus the central reason for imprisonment, the danger of collusion, has actually ceased to exist, the procedural question arises as a criminal defense attorney as to whether one should not immediately apply for a release from prison.” Maybe the state is just as generous in dealing with these requests for release, so defender Gibor.
According to lawyer Gibor, the described business activity of the prison guards involved could constitute various criminal offenses, such as: abuse of office, crimes against the Narcotics Act, usury, favoritism, money laundering and the offense of accepting bribes. “Depending on the amount of drugs and the number of mobile phones, more serious offenses such as commercial activity, which already provide for high minimum penalties, could also be considered for certain offences,” says Gibor.
«Smuggling cannot be completely prevented»
According to Benjamin Brägger, director of the Swiss Institute for Correctional Sciences and Correctional Sciences, some similar cases are known from western Switzerland (see box). “In German-speaking Switzerland, however, trafficking in illegal objects and substances in prisons is extremely rare.” Every institution tries to prevent smuggling with control measures. “However, this cannot be avoided entirely without the prisons further encroaching on the privacy of inmates, which is legally prohibited.”
Also, according to former detective inspector Markus Melzl, you can never make a prison completely safe. “However, it is important that the responsible authorities immediately start the investigation in such a case, draw the necessary conclusions and check whether a weak point in the system needs to be closed,” explains Melzl.
*Name known to editors