Facts
The Federal Court annulled the judgment of the High Court of the Canton of Thurgau of July 13, 2017 and remanded the case to the lower court for a new assessment. The appellant [X.] was convicted by the High Court of multiple simple assault, multiple attempted aggravated assault, battery, multiple threats, multiple coercion, multiple sexual coercion, multiple rape, multiple desecration, multiple endangerment of life, extortion, serious traffic violations, and offenses against the Weapons Act, and sentenced to a custodial sentence of eight years. At the same time, the High Court ordered an inpatient measure.
Considerations
The Federal Court concluded that the lower court had not conducted the appeal proceedings in accordance with the law. In particular, it had not personally questioned the appellant on the matter, although he had expressly requested this. Furthermore, the lower court had rejected the examination of the private plaintiffs, who are alleged to be the victims of the charged offenses, although their statements were of central importance for the assessment of the case.
The Federal Court held that the appeal proceedings according to the Code of Criminal Procedure are oral and adversarial proceedings in which the principle of investigation applies without restriction. The lower court…