Facts
The case concerns a man named [C.], who had married his wife [P.] in July 1990. In September 1991, they separated. On the evening of February 22, 1992, [C.] met his wife [P.] in the company of [N.] in a restaurant in Zurich. [C.] asked [P.] to speak with him and then waited for about a quarter of an hour outside the restaurant. During this time, he retrieved a pistol from his car, loaded it with a single cartridge, and went back towards the entrance of the restaurant. [P.] then stepped out of the restaurant, whereupon [C.] held her and pushed her against the glass entrance door. This led to a verbal altercation between [C.] and [N.], during which [C.] fired the unsecured pistol next to [N.] on the ground.
Two police officers arrived at the scene and pursued C. During the pursuit, [C.] pointed his now unloaded pistol at the police officers. Afterwards, he returned to the restaurant, held his wife [P.] and pointed the pistol at her head. The police officers allowed [C.] to leave the restaurant with [P.] as a hostage and get into his car. There, he ordered [P.] to sit in the driver's seat and pointed the weapon at the back of her head. He threatened to shoot [P.] if the police officers did not close the doors. The police then allowed [C.] to drive away with P.
Considerations
The High Court of the Canton of Zurich convicted [C.] of hostage-taking under Art. 185 para. 1 of the Swiss Criminal Code (StGB) and sentenced him to 3 1/2 years in prison. The Public Prosecutor's Office of the Canton of Zurich then filed a nullity appeal, requesting that [C.] be convicted of qualified hostage-taking under Art. 185 para. 2 StGB.
The Federal Supreme Court's Court of Cassation upheld the appeal. It stated that the legal interests of the hostage [P.] had been…