Facts
In this case, the Public Prosecutor's Office of the canton of Basel-Landschaft filed a complaint against S. for theft by a gang. The lower court acquitted the accused on the grounds that the thefts in question had only been committed with an accomplice, and that at least three people had to be involved to be able to speak of a gang. However, the DFC has confirmed its case law according to which the association of two perpetrators can already constitute a gang. Indeed, even if the group of two people generally exerts less psychological pressure and mutual reinforcement than larger groups, it can nevertheless be a stable and closely-linked team, which is sufficient to characterize a gang within the meaning of Art. 139 para. 3 SCC. The relevant criteria are more the organization and intensity of the collaboration of the perpetrators than the mere number of participants.Considerations
The DFC thus rejects the arguments of the lower court, which had in particular based itself on the case law of the German Federal Court and on Swiss doctrine criticizing the possibility of qualifying a group of only two people as a "gang". It considers that the…