Facts
The appellant [X.] was sentenced by the District Court of Olten-Gösgen on 20 March 2017 to a custodial sentence of 35 months for multiple counts of fraud, theft, and misappropriation, among other offenses. As he had absconded from the criminal proceedings, a warrant was issued for his arrest. On 13 June 2018, he was arrested at Zurich Airport and taken into pre-trial detention on 14 June 2018. The Penal Enforcement Office of the Canton of Solothurn then issued an order for the immediate commencement of the sentence. The appellant unsuccessfully appealed against this order up to the Federal Supreme Court.Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court considers it lawful that the enforcement of the sentence was ordered to commence immediately despite the appellant's risk of absconding. While there is generally the possibility of postponing the commencement of the sentence to give the convicted person time to settle their personal affairs, the public interest in the immediate enforcement of the sentence takes precedence here. The appellant had already absconded abroad during the criminal proceedings and established his center of life in the Dominican…