'Suicide tourism a disgrace'

2007-10-01 18:27

Geneva - A Swiss hotelier is planning legal action against a Swiss assisted-suicide association, Dignitas, after the group helped a German man end his life in one of his hotel rooms last Friday, local media reported.

"It's a disgrace," the owner told weekly newspaper SonntagsBlick, which gave his name only as Alexander M.

"Nobody asked me for permission. I've never had the wool pulled over my eyes like this before," he added.

Dignitas has gained notoriety in recent years by offering assisted suicide to foreign visitors to Switzerland.

Last week, authorities in the town of Staefa in the canton of Zurich, shut down a flat used by the organisation following complaints by neighbours about the number of coffins seen in the street.

Under Swiss law, a terminally-ill person may be given "passive" assistance to suicide, such as being supplied with a lethal dose of a drug, provided it is not done for selfish motives.

Active assistance, including helping the person to take the drug or administering it, is forbidden.

Swiss news agency ATS said last week that Dignitas assisted 192 people to end their lives last year, up from 138 a year earlier.

- AFP