Federal Court Satisfaction for husband after pregnant Syrian woman denied help

The Federal Supreme Court has partially upheld the appeal of a Syrian family returned from Brig VS to Italy in 2014. The border guards refused to provide medical assistance to the woman, who was pregnant and in pain at the time. The husband also received compensation.

The wife was 27 weeks pregnant at the time and was suffering from increasing pain on arrival in Brig. Despite repeated requests from the husband, the border guards did not seek medical help. After the family arrived in Italy, the unborn child was found to have died in hospital.

Following her complaint, the Federal Administrative Court awarded the woman CHF 12,000 in compensation. In a ruling published on Friday, the Federal Supreme Court awarded the husband a sum of CHF 1,000. According to the court, the man was directly affected by the events in Brig. He had to watch as his wife was not given any help. The man's mental integrity was thus unlawfully violated.

SDA