Immigration Detention in Switzerland: A Global Detention Project Special
Report
October 2011
From its 2005 adoption of a controversial asylum measure--"one of the
strictest pieces of legislation in Europe," according to UNHCR--to its
2009 referendum banning the construction of minarets on mosques,
Switzerland's reaction to immigration has become increasingly
antagonistic in recent years. Swiss detention and deporation practices
have been duly impacted by this situation. This Global Detention Project
special report provides a first-of-its-kind view of the Swiss
immigration detention estate. When compared to detention facilities
elsewhere in Europe, some Swiss detention sites--like its Frambois
facility, located just outside Geneva--have decidedly good reputations
for their humane conditions. On the other hand, many Swiss detention
practices and policies have been heavily criticized. These include
imposing detention regimes on administrative detainees that can be more
punitive than those for criminal detainees; the excessive use of force
during deportation proceedings, which has led to several deaths in the
past decade; and the routine imposition of criminal sanctions for
violations of the federal law on foreigners.
The report is available online here: http://www.globaldetentionproject.org/
Please send all replies to:
Michael Flynn
Global Detention Project
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Phone: +41 22 908 4556
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