Facts
The appellant [X.] was found guilty by the Higher Court of the Canton of Bern of multiple violations of the Narcotics Act, false accusation, attempted instigation to false testimony and property damage, and was sentenced to a prison term of 20 months. The appellant filed an appeal with the Federal Court and requested the annulment of the judgment and the remittal of the case to the lower court for re-trial.
The appellant complained of a violation of the right to be heard, because the lower court had not investigated his ability to stand trial at the time of the appeal hearing and had assumed an unexcused absence. He claimed that he had been unable to stand trial for five months due to a medical certificate and therefore could not participate in the appeal hearing.
The appellant also complained of an obviously incorrect and contrary to the records finding of facts as a result of arbitrary evaluation of evidence. He claimed that the lower court had relied on his self-incriminating statements from 2010, although he had revoked them and they had been made under the influence of medication.
Considerations
The Federal Court dismissed the appeal, insofar as it could be considered. It came to the conclusion that the lower court did not have to investigate the appellant's ability to stand trial at the time of the appeal hearing, since the appellant had not credibly demonstrated that he was not at fault for his absence.
The Federal Court also found that the lower court had not made the finding of facts obviously incorrect or arbitrary. It came to the conclusion that the lower court had rightly considered the appellant's self-incriminating statements to…