Facts
The appellant X. was convicted by the Criminal Court of the Canton of Lucerne for multiple counts of serious bodily harm and violation of the Weapons Act. Both X. and the public prosecutor's office and the injured party A. appealed against this judgment.
The High Court of the Canton of Lucerne found X. guilty of multiple attempted serious bodily harm, serious bodily harm, multiple racial discrimination, and multiple violations of the Weapons Act, and sentenced him to 3 1/2 years in prison.
X. then filed a constitutional appeal and a federal nullity appeal, requesting that the judgment of the High Court be set aside and the case be remanded to the lower court for a new assessment. In particular, he demanded to be acquitted of the charge of multiple racial discrimination.
Considerations
The Federal Court concluded that while the appellant's acts of violence were committed for racist motives, they were not clearly recognizable as acts of racial discrimination to an impartial third party. Therefore, the acts did not fulfill the elements of the offense of racial discrimination under Art. 261bis para. 4 first half of the Swiss Criminal Code.
The Federal Court stated that acts of violence can fulfill the…