Facts
The case concerns A., who on the night of June 28, 2015 was attacked and subjected to homophobic insults by several young men in the Schützenmattpark in Basel. A. was then provisionally arrested and held in custody for over 18.5 hours before being released. The Criminal Court of Basel-City initially convicted A. of complicity in simple assault, attempted coercion, and defamation. However, the Court of Appeal later acquitted him of these charges.
A. filed a complaint against the Court of Appeal's rejection of his claim for satisfaction. The Federal Supreme Court upheld his complaint and ordered the Court of Appeal to award A. satisfaction for the unjustified deprivation of liberty.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court states that a claim for satisfaction within the meaning of Art. 429 para. 1 lit. c CCP is generally granted if the accused person was held in investigative or preventive detention. Not only the detention ordered by the precautionary measures court, but any non-negligible deprivation of liberty in criminal proceedings must be taken into account.
In the present case, A. was detained for over 18.5 hours, which constituted a significant infringement of his personal freedom. Even if such a measure may be tolerated without compensation in individual cases, this does not apply to a deprivation of liberty of this duration. Therefore, A.…