Swiss Politician Charged With Faking Covid Certificates
Swiss Politician Charged With Faking Covid Certificates
Wed, May 1st 2024
Christophe Loperetti faces probation after a court finds him guilty of trading counterfeit Covid certificates, underscoring his disregard for public health.
KEYSTONE/Martial Trezzini
The SVP president of Yverdon, Christophe Loperetti, has been sentenced to 15 months’ probation on Wednesday. The politician was found guilty of organizing a trade in counterfeit Covid certificates. He intends to appeal.
According to the judgment of the court in Yverdon-les-Bains VD, the SVP politician was “an essential link” in this trade, which he carried out “with disregard for public health” during the pandemic.
According to calculations by the public prosecutor’s office, the politician, who was unemployed and in financial difficulties at the time, made a profit of between 2450 and 12,250 francs.
The judges ordered him to pay a compensation claim of CHF 3,000 and a fine of CHF 300. The costs of the proceedings, amounting to CHF 12,000, will also be borne by him.
Loperetti admitted in court on Wednesday morning that he had supplied “at least” 49 counterfeit certificates to various acquaintances between 2020 and 2021. He had wanted to help these people. They had been deprived of their fundamental rights because they had refused “to be injected with an experimental vaccine”.
Loperetti assured that he had not made any profit. Furthermore, he was not aware of the illegality of his trading at the time. “Everything was unclear and I wasn’t aware of the consequences. With hindsight, I realise my mistake,” he said.
The defendant’s lawyer had pleaded for acquittal, except for driving under the influence of alcohol. In his opinion, Loperetti acted out of “pure philanthropy” in the case of the Covid certificates.
The 36-year-old trained educator began his political career in the ranks of the SP before switching to the Green Liberals and then the SVP. He has been a member of the Yverdon municipal parliament since 2021. In 2023, he became president of the local SVP section and was confirmed in this office two weeks ago.
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