European Court of Human Rights criticises Switzerland over Brian Keller
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The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that Switzerland must pay former prisoner Brian Keller CHF5,000 ($6,095) in compensation for procedural irregularities. The court did not address the complaints regarding the conditions of detention.
The judges found that there had been a breach of the right to a fair trial, as set out in the ruling published on Thursday. Keller was not given sufficient opportunity to comment on the matter. However, the Court dismissed Keller’s complaints regarding the harsh conditions of detention and solitary confinement at Pöschwies Prison in Zurich as inadmissible.
+ Zurich court sentences Brian Keller to long prison term
Keller appealed to the Court regarding the conditions during his many years at Pöschwies. He spent 23 hours in solitary confinement. On some occasions, he was also denied his one-hour daily exercise break.
He often had contact only with prison staff, with whom he frequently had altercations. These form part of proceedings that are still pending before the Zurich High Court.
Keller was released from prison in November 2023.
Keller is a boxer and once Switzerland’s “most famous inmate”. Since his release, he has come into conflict with the law on several occasions.
Among other things, he knocked out an opponent after the two had provoked each other on social media. This case is also still pending.
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Translated from German, reviewed by an English Department journalist.
