BA preliminary investigations after Aeschi’s scuffle with the federal police
Published: Sunday, Jul 21st 2024, 22:10
Updated At: Sunday, Jul 21st 2024, 22:20
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Following the scuffle between SVP parliamentary group leader Thomas Aeschi (NR/ZG) and federal police officers during the visit of the Ukrainian parliamentary president, the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG) has initiated preliminary investigations. Official offenses are in question.
In addition, the OAG received a criminal complaint following the incident on June 12 during the summer session, the authority told the Keystone-SDA news agency on Sunday evening. The OAG thus confirmed a report in the "Tagesanzeiger" newspaper. The complaint will be "examined according to the usual procedure".
No further details are possible at present. The presumption of innocence continues to apply.
Breaking through the barrier
Aeschi wanted to break through a cordon during a photo opportunity on the occasion of the visit of Ukrainian Parliament President Ruslan Stefanchukbeim. A video showed the SVP National Councillor defending himself against two armed federal police officers who tried to force him off the stairs in the foyer of the Federal Palace.
Aeschi wrote on the X portal: "As you can see on the video, I did not allow myself to be stopped. The point is that parliamentary work takes precedence over foreign state visits during the session."
Jans stands behind federal police officers
Justice Minister Beat Jans later supported the actions of the federal police. "The parliamentarians simply had to take a different staircase, so they could have followed the police's instructions," he told the Keystone-SDA news agency the next day.
"When someone comes from Ukraine, from a country at war, the level of security is high and that was now part of what I consider to be the necessary dispositive," Jans continued. "If it had really hindered parliamentary business, you could have the discussion."
©Keystone/SDA
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