Resounding assassination: Geneva: the psychiatric expert paints a pessimistic picture of the accused

The Federal Criminal Court heard on Wednesday a psychiatric expert in the trial of the assassination of an Egyptian diplomat in 1995 in Geneva. The doctor described the dyssocial personality of the main accused, a 55-year-old car salesman.

The accused presents a dyssocial personality disorder with a psychopathic dimension, according to the expert. The risk of recurrence is considered medium to high in the next 10 to 15 years. Generally speaking, such a disorder is not accessible to treatment because the subject does not suffer and is not motivated to undertake therapy which is perceived as a moment of vulnerability.

A development is considered very unlikely by the psychiatrist and internment has been mentioned in the event of conviction. In the event that the person concerned acknowledges all the recognized facts, treatment could be considered “provided that the commitment is sincere”. An initial assessment should be carried out after 5 years to decide what to do next.

Treatment after prison

The doctor was very skeptical about the idea of ​​treatment after prison, put forward by the defense: “I do not know of any inmate who would have refused to be followed in prison and who would have accepted upon his release.”

The accused’s lawyer questioned whether the absence of previous convictions for rape could be considered positive for development. The expert saw it, on the contrary, as a negative factor. Indeed, the propensity to commit violent or sexual offenses tends to decrease with age. The accused could therefore present a development that is different from normal and rather worrying.

Questioned at length by the defense on the bases which based his diagnosis, the doctor explained that he had started from a hypothesis of guilt for all the charges, namely murder, rape and kidnapping, mainly. Such a method would be accepted by the Federal Court. In another context, the conclusion would certainly be the same but with a lesser degree of seriousness.

Already convicted in France and Switzerland, the car salesman is accused of murder, several rapes, kidnapping, simple bodily harm, threats, representation of violence and pornography. He is also responsible for various financial crimes.

His co-accused, aged 49, is charged with complicity in murder. Both defendants are presumed innocent until a final judgment enters into force.

The trial continues Thursday with the hearing of a Federal Police agent infiltrated in the car salesman’s cell in Champ-Dollon. His co-accused will also be questioned.