Facts
On November 8, 1993, B. and E. committed an armed robbery against the director of the O. train station. They stole money and two general SBB subscriptions worth approximately 8'200 Swiss francs. B. and E. each had an unloaded revolver with them. B. wrongly believed that E.'s revolver was loaded.
On September 16, 1997, the Zurich Cantonal Court sentenced B. to 6 years' imprisonment for qualified theft under Article 139, paragraph 1bis, aSCC, in relation to Article 23, paragraph 1, SCC.
B. filed a nullity appeal with the Federal Court, requesting the annulment of the Cantonal Court's judgment and the remanding of the case for a new decision.
Considerations
The Federal Court dismissed the appeal. The court considered that the attempt at qualified robbery with an unloaded firearm was possible, as the qualification protected another legal interest, namely physical security.
The court also considered that the qualification of qualified robbery with an unloaded firearm was an autonomous offense, which could be sanctioned separately from simple theft. The court therefore confirmed B.'s conviction for attempted qualified robbery with an…