Facts
The Public Prosecutor's Office of the Canton of Solothurn conducted a criminal investigation against A. and B. for homicide and bodily harm against their children. From December 2013 onwards, the Public Prosecutor's Office ordered the deployment of a total of 6 covert investigators, which was each approved by the detention court.
On 29 April 2015, the Public Prosecutor's Office issued a search warrant for the apartment of A. and ordered the immediate and irreversible deletion of all audio and video recordings of the covert investigators on the data carriers of A. and her new partner C. The Public Prosecutor's Office justified this by stating that the anonymity of the covert investigators had to be preserved.
A. filed a complaint against the search warrant and the deletion of the recordings. The High Court of the Canton of Solothurn upheld the complaint and found the search, seizure, and destruction of the data to be unlawful.
The Public Prosecutor's Office then filed an appeal in criminal matters with the Federal Supreme Court, requesting that the decision of the High Court be overturned and A.'s complaint be dismissed.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court concluded that there was a sufficient legal basis in Art. 151 para. 2 and Art. 297 para. 3 of the Swiss Criminal Procedure Code for the immediate and irreversible deletion of the video recordings of the covert investigators on the data carriers of the accused.
However, the approach of the Public…