For the first time, a Swiss citizen who fought in Ukraine as a volunteer has been convicted by a military court, reported RTS. The ruling comes as around 15 similar cases are under investigation and has revived debate over the boundaries between law, morality and personal freedom.
Last Thursday a military court near Zurich found a dual Swiss-Israeli national guilty of serving in a foreign army. He received a suspended prison sentence of 18 months. It is the first Swiss judgment of its kind relating to a combatant in Ukraine.
This case is not unique. In total, roughly 15 Swiss citizens are currently subject to proceedings for comparable offences. One of them, who also travelled to Ukraine to fight, says he is aware of the possible consequences and is prepared to serve a prison sentence. I have met people from all over the world, he says, and in few countries have the authorities created problems for citizens who chose to fight in Ukraine for freedom and independence. I do not see why this should be a problem for Switzerland.
For Patrick Hofstetter, a lecturer at the Military Academy of ETH Zurich, the issue sits at the intersection of public opinion, law and individual conscience. On one side there is morality, he says, where some condemn such actions and others may approve of them. Then there is the legal framework which — even for a non-lawyer — is very clear: it is prohibited. And finally there is personal conscience, with its own questions: what are the motives and what intentions lie behind the decision?
Military tribunals, which hear such cases, are specialist courts within the military-justice system. They enforce discipline and adjudicate breaches of military law under procedures that differ from those of civilian courts, and today are used chiefly to ensure accountability for members of the armed forces and, in defined circumstances, others involved in military operations. In Switzerland, all abled-bodied men are conscripted, bringing them under the purview of the military courts.
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RTS article (in French) – Take a 5 minute French test now
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