Facts
The appellant [A.] was convicted by the Court of Appeal of the Canton of Basel-Stadt on June 29, 2023, of a felony against the Narcotics Act and multiple misdemeanors against the Weapons Act, and sentenced to a custodial sentence of 20 months. At the time of his apprehension on April 6, 2017, he had 49.4 grams of cocaine (purity 83%) in his possession. Furthermore, he had unlawfully acquired and possessed a pistol and ammunition in the period from the end of December 2016 to April 5, 2017.
Considerations
The appellant alleges that the Court of Appeal violated the principle of "ne bis in idem", as the central evidentiary bases in the present criminal proceedings had already been used to his detriment in the Basel-Landschaft proceedings regarding the subsequent order of detention. Furthermore, the weapon was found during an unlawful search of his apartment in the nature of a "fishing expedition", and therefore the weapon and ammunition are not admissible as evidence. In addition, his right of confrontation was violated, as the two police officers who had documented the weapon find could not be effectively questioned due to gaps in their memory.
The Federal Supreme Court rejects the allegation of a violation of the "ne bis in idem" principle. It finds that the present criminal proceedings do not relate to the same set of facts that was already the subject of the Basel-Landschaft proceedings regarding the subsequent order of detention.
However, the Federal Supreme Court upholds the allegation…