Facts
The appellant [A.] was convicted by the Higher Court of the Canton of Zurich for qualified violation of the Narcotics Act, multiple forgery of documents and professional money laundering to 24 months' imprisonment and a fine of 90 daily rates of CHF 150.--. The execution of the sentences was suspended with a probation period of 2 years.
The appellant requested the Federal Court to acquit him at the expense of the state treasury. He complained of a violation of Art. 33 para. 1 CrimPC and a violation of Art. 10 para. 2 and 3 CrimPC.
The court of first instance had established that the appellant had acknowledged in the first two interrogations in mid-April 2014 that he had built and financed the two indoor facilities himself, and that he had made a comprehensive confession during the delegated police interrogations in May and July 2014 in the presence of lawyer [C.] .
Considerations
The Federal Court examined the complaint of a violation of Art. 33 para. 1 CrimPC and found that the court of first instance had not failed to recognize that statements by persons accused in other proceedings could only be used to the detriment of an accused person if the latter had at least once had an appropriate and sufficient opportunity to cast doubt on the incriminating statements and to ask questions to the accused persons in the separate proceedings.
The Federal Court also examined the complaint of a violation of Art. 10 para. 2 and 3 CrimPC and found that the court of first instance had freely evaluated the evidence according to its conviction gained from the entire proceedings and that the conviction could be based on the appellant's…