Swiss police make arrests after suicide capsule is used for first time

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00:00Lush green forests and sprawling meadows surround this private forest retreat in the Swiss countryside.

00:08An idyllic setting where a 64-year-old American woman chose to end her own life using a suicide

00:14capsule.

00:16Her body was found in the woods on Monday, leading Swiss police to make several arrests

00:21and open a criminal case into the incident.

00:25We found a lifeless person in one of these Sarko capsules.

00:29The offence that we are primarily investigating is Article 115 of the Criminal Code, incitement

00:35and assisted suicide.

00:38The capsule used was a 3D-printed pod known as Sarko, designed to enable suicide without

00:44suffering.

00:45After climbing inside, users must answer a series of automated questions, meant to assess

00:50their mental stability.

00:52They then press a button that injects nitrogen gas into the sealed chamber, making them lose

00:57consciousness and die within a few minutes.

01:02Exit International, an assisted suicide non-profit group which engineered the capsule, says its

01:07lawyer advised it would be legal in Switzerland, but its use was never formally approved by

01:13Swiss authorities.

01:14The Sarko suicide capsule is not legally compliant in two respects.

01:22First, it does not fulfill the requirements of product safety law and may therefore not

01:27be placed on the market.

01:29And second, the corresponding use of nitrogen is not compatible with the Chemicals Act.

01:39Swiss law generally allows assisted suicide if certain conditions are met, but it doesn't

01:44permit active euthanasia, which involves the use of lethal injections by healthcare

01:49practitioners.

01:51In recent years, some lawmakers have issued calls to clarify the law, saying it still

01:55contained loopholes and grey areas.

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