Zurich (Helvilux) Switzerland has long projected the image of a city anchored in the rule of law, institutional neutrality and public trust. But over the past weeks, that image has been unsettled by an unusual campaign that has spilled from the streets into court files, online petitions and public debate.
Across the canton of Zurich, flyers appeared in letterboxes, cafés and online platforms carrying stark messages: “Not Just Foreigners – Swiss Citizens at Risk Too” “AWAKE SWISS CITIZENS BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE” “SWITZERLAND JUDICIARY SYSTEM IS BROKEN”
Behind the campaign is Mahesh Kamath, an Indian-origin freelance journalist based in Zurich and Editor and publisher of the Luxembourg-based online outlet Helvilux Media. Kamath describes his actions as an attempt to force public scrutiny of what he claims is a pattern of judicial bias in cases involving alleged police misconduct particularly those handled by the III Criminal Chamber of the Zurich High Court (Obergericht des Kantons Zürich).
At the center of the controversy is lic. iur. David Oehninger, senior judge and current president of that chamber.
A Contested Judicial Career Revisited
Kamath points back to 2017, when David Oehninger was elected to the Zurich High Court. At the time, the election was widely described as contentious. Observers noted that the Inter-Party Conference (IFK) which usually agrees on a consensus candidate failed to do so for the first time. Oehninger, a member of the Swiss People’s Party (SVP), prevailed over Andreas Huizinga (EVP), despite reported resistance from parts of parliament. Click here to read the article.
Critics at the time questioned whether Oehninger enjoyed sufficient cross-party trust and whether his political affiliation could polarize perceptions of judicial neutrality. Despite those concerns, he was elected and has since risen to become president of the III Criminal Chamber, which handles serious criminal matters including cases against police officers.
Kamath stresses that he is not accusing Oehninger of personal wrongdoing. However, he argues that the concerns voiced in 2017 deserve renewed attention in light of recent judgments.
“The question is no longer theoretical,” Kamath says. “It is whether political background, institutional culture and legal loopholes together create outcomes where victims especially powerless ones systematically lose.”
French political philosopher and writer of the 18th century Montesquieu who known for shaping modern ideas about government and liberty and developing the idea of the separation of powers once said, “Il n’y a point de liberté si la puissance de juger n’est pas séparée.“ (In English translation – “There is no liberty if the power of judging is not separated.”). Today we are living in 21st Centery in year 2026 and still we have to struggle with the same problem were far right or far left wing political party leader or member are working as a Senior judge and president and ignore the important facts therefore accused police office left without prosecution.
Cases That Triggered the Campaign
The immediate trigger for the flyers and petitions is a recent decision by the Zurich High Court, case TB250057-O/U, dismissed under the authority of Judge Oehninger. The accused in the case is a member of the Zurich Cantonal Police.
According to court records and material reviewed by Helvilux Media, the file included video evidence and documentation suggesting alleged abuse of authority and tresspassing commited by Swiss police officer. Despite this, the case was dismissed. Legal observers and activists argue that not all aspects of the evidence were substantively addressed.
Without proper documentation police officer from Zurich Kantonspolizei do forcefull entry into a womens house, a theft incident happens, both Kantonsolizei and City Zurich police department when victim request for the protokol about the police visit first denied about the police were sent then later on accept the police did visited, accused police officer threat victim to delete the video evidence which was recorded in her phone, threat her that police officer will do anzeige against her for recording, as a retaliation also did false complaint against her which was later on dismissed by Stadrichteramt and after this all till present day the accused police officers misconduct is not being investigated by court.
The victim Nina (name changed for privacy reason) has announced plans to appeal to Bundesgericht, Journalist from Zurich is supporting victim to properly file the complaint.
Nina mentioned that, As the accused parties are police officer not a single lawyer in city Zurich on in the canton of Zurich is taking my case. Even when I am eligible to get the free legal aid from State then also no lawyer is representing me. Without lawyer without knowing the Swiss law how a ordinary citizen and resident will ask for justice in Switzerland courts. Therefore in most cases were accused are Swiss government officials victim before even getting judgement accept the defeat.
Journalist Kamath has made the court order publicly available, arguing that transparency is essential for public understanding. Click here to read both court order 1, 2 click link. In his view, the case fits a broader pattern:
Federal Court Intervention Raises Questions
A second case, TB240090-O/U/HEI>MUL, has intensified scrutiny. In that matter, the Swiss Federal Supreme Court (Bundesgericht) issued an order (1C_246/2025) returning the case to the lower court for re-examination.
The Federal Court found that the Zurich High Court had failed to sufficiently address a key aspect of alleged police misconduct, despite video evidence showing the officer’s actions.
The incident happened in year 2024 at Urdorf were police officers of same Zurich police department of canton zurich while victim was recording police misconduct with an asylum seeker she was verbally threatened and also her mobile camera lens was touch by accused police officer were he was trying to hold her hand and mobile and close the video of her mobile camera lens. All incident was recorded were accused police officer also confess is wrongdoing in camera which was video posted on social media.
Even after this much evidence that time same High court of the canton of zurich Criminal chember III dismissed the case.
For Kamath, this intervention is critical:
Article 110(3) StGB and a Structural Barrier
Central to Journalist’s critique is Article 110(3) of the Swiss Criminal Code (StGB), which governs the prosecution of public officials in Switzerland. He argues that the provision creates procedural barriers that delay investigations when the accused is a government official especially police officers.
According to Kamath, these delays have real consequences:
Although Article 312 of the StGB provides for up to five years’ imprisonment for abuse of official authority, Kamath claims that in practice, the threshold for investigation and conviction is rarely met when police or other government officials are involved. That, he says, is the harsh reality of Switzerland.
In many cases when the victim submit complaint to Public prosecutor office the first level of complaint authority the case is being dismissed and most victims loss there hope from that first level itself. There are documented evidence were even those who are eligible for Free legal aid and financially cannot efford expensive lawyer they also receive Five hundred to Thousand francs court fee charges when the case is being dismissed in Supreme court of the canton of Zurich therefore mostly victim don’t even dare to do appeal. This kind of strategy is being used so that victim with fear of upcoming court expenses most of the time avoid to do appeal.
Journalist Kamath also mentioned that, Justice to victim is so far, Most of the victims now even get proper response from public prosecutor office of the canton of zurich and also Supreme court of the canton of zurich when requested for there case files akten with respect to access to files law. Therefore as the petitioner never have complete documents and akten its hard for them to properly prove the matter to higher courts in appeal session and thats how then in higher court as the allegation is not profounded therefore in many cases it gets smooth for courts to dismiss the case.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (Germany) on the context of judges and institutions that act decisively without moral or factual understanding, causing injustice through procedure once said “Es ist nichts schrecklicher als eine tätige Unwissenheit.“ (English translation “There is nothing more frightening than active ignorance.”)
Recently, Helvilux Media published a detailed report on how the Zurich Limmat Prosecutor is accused of shielding police misconduct. To read the report click here.
This problem is not limited to the Public Prosecutor’s Office in the Canton of Zurich or the President of Criminal Chamber III of the Zurich Supreme Court; it also exists in other parts of Switzerland. A few months ago, Sarah Zanolini, a former public prosecutor in Muri-Bremgarten and member of the FDP political party, was involved in a controversy after being accused of bias in a case. The case was subsequently tried at the Aargau Supreme Court, but unfortunately, it was dismissed something that often happens when the complainant’s lawyer fails to present a proper argument. Zanolini attempted to have her name removed from the court order, but the court rejected her request. The court order remains publicly available and can still be viewed here.
Zanolini was head of the public prosecutor’s office for almost six and a half years, and she was also a volunteer lawyer for the child protection group at the Aarau Cantonal Hospital. Due to public pressure last year at the end of June 2025 Sarah resigned from her position. Guess what, now she is working in Oberstaatsanwaltschaft of the canton of zurich as a Public prosecutor. Here interestingly a victim requested Oberstaatsanwaltscaft of the canton of zurich that Winterthur public prosecutor is baised as they are not even providing the akten and other files of his several cases which are against Stadt Winterthur and Gemeinde Nurensdorf corruption and office abuse matter. Instead of doing honest investigation Oberstaatsanwaltschaft of the canton of zurich gave that matter to Staatsanwalt Sarah Zanolini to do investigation and guess what as per Zanolini Staatsanwaltschaft Winterthur Underland is not baised.
Another incident involved FDP political party member and former public prosecutor Rebecca Bänziger. She was involved in a scheduling dispute between the courts and the Public Prosecutor’s Office that lasted nearly two years. She did not appear at a scheduled appeal hearing in the summer of 2023.
As a result, a Sri Lankan convicted of sexual activity with children could neither be punished more severely nor expelled from the country. The High Court fined the Public Prosecutor’s Office and described its behavior as “unacceptable in a state governed by the rule of law.”
The Federal Supreme Court later canceled the fine, (Click here to read the news) ruling that it was not Bänziger as an individual, but the Public Prosecutor’s Office itself that had been summoned. While ordinary citizens face great difficulty in contesting fines and penalties, government officials can avoid consequences more easily. The victim, who was a minor, faced sexual assault. Their family hopes the Swiss judiciary will deliver justice and impose a strong punishment on the predator, but the broken judicial system exposes its incompetence. The case had no direct consequences for Bänziger, but the senior public prosecutor, Philipp Umbricht, received a reprimand from the government. Umbricht had instructed Bänziger to take her “planned and approved vacation,” which the High Court did not take into account when scheduling the hearing.
This story was reported in detail by journalist Fabian Hägler in Aargauer Zeitung on 28 May 2025. To read the news, click here.
Speaking to Helvilux, journalist Kamath said, “There is a quote in Urdu: ‘Hamam mein sab nange hain’ meaning that everyone has something to hide; everyone is equally guilty. This quote perfectly fits the broken Swiss judicial system, where one biased actor is supported by another, and one corrupt official covers up for another. They then shamelessly justify this as Vitamin B (Beziehung – ‘connection‘). They fail to understand that one day if their own family member could become a victim, and if the opposing party is wealthy and politically connected, the same Vitamin B will be used to obtain a favorable judgment. Victim will never get justice in Swiss. Therefore, reform of the Swiss judicial system is necessary.”
Victims Without Power, Justice Without Teeth
Through his reporting, Journalist Kamath says he has spoken to multiple victims Swiss citizens and migrants alike who allege mistreatment by Swiss police in Zurich, Winterthur (a city in canton zurich), Bern, Luzern, Geneva and other cantons of Switzerland.
Kamath also informed a case to Helvilux in which involves a woman of migrant background in Zurich. For privacy reasons, Helvilux has kept her identity anonymous. According to her testimony, police officers mistreated her, threatened her, and later filed a retaliatory complaint against her at the office of the zurich city judge, which was eventually dismissed. Action of police officer in this case clearly shows how police use retaliation which is pure office abuse (amtmissbrauch) case. Under the rule of law, the officer should have been investigate and suspended, but welcome to neutral Switzerland, he is still a police officer, able to commit such abuses again against other people in the city of Zurich.
In another incident, Zurich resident recorded parts of the police mistreatment on her mobile phone and through CCTV installed in her home. Despite this evidence, she says no accountability followed by court or police department.
In another case a Swiss citizen and Human right activist in Winterthur who was recording misdoing of police, Winterthur Stadt police department police officers forcefully took his mobile ask his mobile pin and deleted the video which were evidence.
While speaking in condition of anonimity he said, I am a swiss citizen, I have trust in system and we are integrated the way to respect the law and trust the Swiss system. When police officer forcefully took my mobile phone and asked for pin i trusted her that she is doing everything as per rule of law and protokol but i was fool to trust them. She (the police officer) litrally deleted the evidence which i recorded in my mobile phone. I lost the faith on police department in Winterthur after that.
Flyers, Petitions and Public Pressure
To escalate the matter beyond individual courtrooms, Kamath, together with Helvilux Media, has launched a series of public petitions via the Swiss civic platform Campax.org and change.org online petition websites. These petitions formally call on the Judicial Oversight Authority of the Canton of Zurich, the Government Council of the Canton of Zurich, and the Swiss Federal Supreme Court to initiate an independent and impartial review of recent decisions issued by the III Criminal Chamber of the Zurich High Court. The stated aim is to examine whether judicial bias or structural shortcomings may have influenced outcomes in cases involving alleged police misconduct.
The petitions demand concrete reforms, including greater transparency in proceedings involving public officials, effective safeguards to prevent judicial bias, and the consistent application of the law so that police officers are held to the same standards of accountability as any other citizen. Supporters of the campaign argue that Switzerland’s strict data protection laws, combined with a traditionally cautious and deferential media culture, have unintentionally shielded state authorities from sustained public scrutiny. According to the petitioners, this environment has allowed controversial decisions to pass largely unnoticed, leaving victims without answers and gradually eroding public confidence in the justice system.
Trust at Risk in neutral nation of Europe
Switzerland’s international reputation rests heavily on trust in its police, its courts and its neutrality. Kamath warns that this trust is eroding.
He points to past cases across Switzerland, including fatal police shootings in which officers were acquitted due to “insufficient evidence,” leaving victim’s families without closure.
In 2018, 39-year-old Nigerian Mike Ben Peter suffered a fatal heart attack after being kicked and held face-down by police in Lausanne during an arrest. On June 23, 2023, a Swiss court acquitted six officers involved, ruling that the evidence did not show their actions directly caused his death. The verdict sparked outrage from the victim’s family and supporters, who protested outside the court with banners referencing police violence globally. Defense lawyers cited expert opinions suggesting the death was not caused by police intervention, while the family’s lawyer called the ruling an “insult to intelligence.” The case has fueled broader discussions about structural racism and excessive use of force in Switzerland, highlighted by a 2022 UN report expressing concern over systemic issues and police impunity.
Political Sensitivities and Conflict-of-Interest Concerns
Kamath is careful to state that his criticism is not directed at the SVP as a whole. He said, Some SVP leaders work honestly for better Switzerland and protecting its local culture. We respect that.
However, he argues that when judges with strong political affiliations preside over sensitive criminal chambers, conflict-of-interest concerns must be examined, not dismissed.
He has also referenced other investigations by Helvilux, including alleged irregularities in the Nürensdorf municipality, where local SVP leaders are accused of withholding public files related to corruption, wrongdoing and rental scandal in social assisted housings. Click here to read the news.
‘If We Stay Silent Now next generation will suffer’ -KAMATH
To sustain his reporting and legal research, Kamath has launched a GoFundMe campaign under the banner “Gerechtigkeit für Opfer von Amtsmissbrauch” (Justice for Victims of Abuse of Office). He presents the fundraising effort not as a personal appeal, but as a public-interest initiative aimed at financing investigative work that, he says, has largely been absent from mainstream Swiss media. According to Kamath, numerous cases of alleged corruption and abuse of authority particularly within police departments have gone unreported for years, allowing controversial court decisions to pass without meaningful public debate.
In the campaign description, Kamath outlines a pattern he claims to have observed across several cantons, including Zurich and Vaud: individuals mistreated by police see their complaints dismissed, investigations are not opened, and in the most serious cases where innocent people have died during police operations officers are acquitted due to what courts describe as insufficient evidence. He argues that Article 110(3) of the Swiss Criminal Code, which affords special procedural protection to public officials, plays a central role in these outcomes by delaying or obstructing criminal prosecution and allowing cases to quietly disappear from the system.
Kamath says the funds raised will be used to continue in-depth research, publish court documents, protect sources, and bring overlooked cases into the public domain. “If we stay silent now,” he warns, “authoritarian thinking becomes normalized. We owe it to Gen Z and the next generation to repair the justice system before it’s too late.” Whether the campaign results in institutional reform remains uncertain.
What is clear, however, is that the flyers scattered across Zurich and the petitions and fundraising that followed have already forced an uncomfortable question into public view that,
