Facts
A., born on December 7, 1923, was found guilty on June 29, 2010 of sexual coercion, attempted sexual coercion, rape and preparatory criminal acts, and sentenced to ten years of imprisonment. He has appealed this decision, which is currently pending before the Court of Cassation.
On February 16, 2011, A. filed a new request for release with the Indictment Chamber, arguing that his health had deteriorated since June 2010. By presidential order of February 28, 2011, the Criminal Appeals and Review Chamber of the Court of Justice of the Canton of Geneva rejected this request for release, considering that the continued detention remained compatible with the right to personal freedom and the principle of proportionality.
Considerations
The Federal Tribunal dismissed the appeal filed by A. against this decision. It considered that, since Art. 233 of the Swiss Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) does not expressly refer to Art. 228 CPC and the right to be heard is sufficiently guaranteed by the adversarial procedure, the accused does not have a formal right to a hearing when the appellate court rules on his request for release.
However, the Federal Tribunal specified that the appellate court could proceed with a personal hearing of the accused if new facts were discovered or if…