Commission postpones decision on immunity of Aeschi and Graber
Published: Monday, Nov 18th 2024, 20:10
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The National Council's Immunity Committee has postponed its decision on lifting the immunity of SVP National Councillors Thomas Aeschi and Michael Graber. The latter had been involved in a scuffle with police officers during the visit of Ukrainian Parliament President Ruslan Stefanchuk to the Federal Palace.
The Immunity Committee of the National Council (IC-N) wants to postpone the decision until it has received a statement from the Federal Assembly's administrative delegation. The latter should first explain whether, in its view, the two National Councillors violated the safety regulations for the building, the IC-N announced on Monday evening.
According to the Federal Security Service (FSD) operations journal, National Councillors Thomas Aeschi and Michael Graber attempted to use the main staircase of the parliament building during the visit of the Ukrainian President of Parliament, contrary to the instructions of the FSD security assistants. When they were held back by the officials, a scuffle ensued with physical violence and verbal altercations.
On suspicion of obstruction of an official act, the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG) submitted an application on September 19, 2024 to waive the immunity of the two councillors involved. The IC-N heard National Councillors Aeschi and Graber on Monday. National Councillor Aeschi claimed that he had been physically assaulted directly without first being made aware of the ban, the committee announced.
National Councillor Graber added, according to the IC-N press release, that this ban had not been communicated in advance by the parliamentary administration. He had also sought a discussion and helped to de-escalate the situation.
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