Facts
The Iraqi national [A.] (born in 1985) was sentenced by the District Court of Zurich to a partially suspended prison sentence of 3 years for multiple counts of promotion of prostitution and unlawful receipt of social assistance benefits. The court expelled him from the territory of Switzerland for a period of 7 years in application of Art. 66a para. 1 lit. e and h of the Swiss Criminal Code and ordered his entry in the Schengen Information System (SIS).
[A.] appealed against the conviction for promotion of prostitution, the sentence, and the expulsion from the country. The High Court of the Canton of Zurich found him guilty of promotion of prostitution pursuant to Art. 195 lit. c of the Swiss Criminal Code, sentenced him to a partially suspended prison sentence of 33 months, and refrained from ordering an expulsion from the country.
The Office of the Attorney General of the Canton of Zurich filed a criminal law appeal against the waiver of the expulsion from the country.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court states that the expulsion from the country under Art. 66a para. 1 lit. e and h of the Swiss Criminal Code is mandatory, as the promotion of prostitution and the unlawful receipt of social assistance benefits are catalogue offenses. Expulsion from the country may only be waived exceptionally if it would result in a serious personal hardship and the public interest in keeping the foreigner away does not outweigh the private interest in remaining in Switzerland.
The Federal Supreme Court does not see such a serious personal hardship as given. Although the appellant has two children aged 9 and 12 who live with their mother, there is no close, actually lived family relationship, as he only has a limited visitation right of 3 days per month, does not pay any maintenance, and is not entitled to custody. Furthermore, he has not…