Judgment of the Federal Court on the Exploitation of Distress and Promotion of Prostitution

Facts

In its judgment of December 10, 2019, the Federal Court upheld the conviction of the Appellate Court of the Canton of Basel-Stadt against the appellant [A.] . He was convicted of multiple counts of property damage, fraud, coercion, exploitation of distress, multiple attempted exploitation of distress, promotion of prostitution, multiple attempted promotion of prostitution, and other offenses.

The appellant had argued that the interrogations of the dancers were conducted under duress and that the identity of the witnesses was kept secret until the questioning, which had violated his right of defense. He also criticized the arbitrariness in the assessment of the evidence. However, the Federal Court dismissed these allegations as unfounded.

Furthermore, the Federal Court confirmed the conviction of the appellant for multiple, partially attempted exploitation of distress under Art. 193 para. 1 of the Swiss Criminal Code (StGB) and for multiple, partially attempted promotion of prostitution under Art. 195 paras. 2 and 3 StGB (in the version in force until June 30, 2014). It considered the reasoning of the lower court to be in accordance with the law.

The Federal Court also upheld the conviction for violations of the Federal Act against Unfair Competition and the Trademark Protection Act. The public…