Brian K., Switzerland’s best-known prisoner, was actually supposed to be released. But nothing came of it because he is said to have committed more than 30 crimes while he was in solitary confinement. How can that be? A look at the files reveals a cycle of desperation and violence.
It was a back and forth that the Swiss judiciary has rarely seen, and for a moment it looked as if the drama about the country’s most famous prisoner could come to an end after almost ten years. On November 1, the Zurich Supreme Court decided to release Brian K. after years in a cell. But nothing came of it. Only a week later, at the request of the public prosecutor, the Zurich compulsory measures court again ordered pre-trial detention. The 27-year-old is accused of other crimes, almost all committed during his solitary confinement. How can that be?