Facts
The appellant [X.] was found guilty of election fraud regarding [B.] by the Appellate Court of the Canton of Basel-Stadt and sentenced to 280 hours of community service in lieu of a fine of 70 daily penalty units of CHF 30.--. [X.] had participated in the Grand Council election of October 28, 2012, in place of [B.] . The lower court based its decision on the statements of [B.] , which were taken by the public prosecutor's office on October 30, 2012.
[X.] filed a criminal appeal and requested that he be acquitted of guilt and penalty. He complained that the questioning of [B.] by the public prosecutor's office was not admissible as evidence, as it had been conducted in violation of all criminal procedural rights. He also denied having taken any actions to exercise the right to vote in place of [B.] .
Considerations
The Federal Court dismissed the appeal. It stated that the questioning of [B.] by the public prosecutor's office on October 30, 2012, was admissible as evidence, as it was not based on an unlawful discussion on October 23, 2012. The lower court had correctly found that [B.] had made a clumsy and confused impression during the first-instance main hearing, but her statements to the public prosecutor's office on October 30, 2012, were clear and comprehensible.
The Federal Court further stated that the lower court had not acted arbitrarily when it found that the appellant had himself taken all the necessary actions to exercise the right to vote. [B.] 's statements were credible and…