A Swiss appeals trial began Monday of six police officers acquitted over the death in custody of a Nigerian man, which has drawn comparisons to George Floyd’s killing in the United States.
Dozens of people gathered outside the courthouse in Renens, in western Switzerland, to show support for the family of Mike Ben Peter, an AFP journalist observed.
The 39-year-old died following a violent arrest after he refused a police drug search in Lausanne in early 2018.
In the encounter, involving six police officers, he was pinned to the ground, on his stomach, his family’s lawyer Simon Ntah told AFP prior to the initial trial.
“He was held in positional asphyxia” for several minutes, he said.
Ben Peter died in hospital a few hours later after suffering a heart attack.
His death initially received little attention, but the global outcry over Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police in May 2020 placed a bigger spotlight on the Swiss case.
Ntah…
Source: Guardian Newspaper
