Tinner affair: Swiss justice did not commit a fault

Swiss Justice

There European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), in its judgment of 26 April 2011, ruled in favour of Swiss justice in the context of the trial brought by the Tinner brothers.

To understand the scope of the judgment of the ECHR, To understand the case, we need to go back a few years, specifically to between 2004 and 2005. At that time, three members of the Tinner family were arrested and placed in pretrial detention in connection with a murky espionage case. The two brothers, Urs and Marco, as well as their father, Friedrich, were suspected of having collaborated with Abdul Qadeer Khan, the inventor of the atomic bomb in Pakistan. The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) noted that "they were suspected, in particular, of having supplied Libya with equipment falling under the 1968 Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons." Subsequently, the investigation also focused on money laundering: arms sales were a real source of income for Marco Tinner. slot machine which earned him 12 million francs.

Released on bail in 2006 (Friedrich), 2008 (Urs), and 2009 (Marco), the Tinner brothers were outraged by the length of their pretrial detention and sought to hold the Swiss justice system accountable. Indeed, how could such a long period of detention be justified without any formal charges being brought? Simply because the case was particularly complex. With numerous twists and turns, Federal Investigating Judge Andreas Müller had to overcome not only Swiss political pressure but also the reluctance of the CIA and the United States. It should be noted that in 2003, the Tinner brothers worked with the CIA to help dismantle the Pakistani network. The Federal Council then invoked national security concerns to prohibit Judge Müller from continuing his investigation beyond that date. Many parts were reportedly destroyed on the orders of the Federal Council in 2007, officially to prevent any dissemination of nuclear construction plans.

The European Court of Human Rights therefore considered that the rights of the Tinner brothers had not been violated by the length of their pre-trial detention and dismissed their claims.

What will happen next in this case? In light of the facts and evidence gathered, Judge Müller requested in December 2010 that the three Swiss engineers be charged with illegal trafficking of war materiel. The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG), silent until now, is expected to quickly bring the Tinners before the Federal Criminal Court. OAG spokesperson Jeannette Balmer confirmed that the indictment would soon be finalized. The Tinners, who appear to have gambled with arms sales as casually as if they had placed a few bets on a game of chance... online casino, face a fine of five million francs and a prison sentence of 10 years.