(AFP) From the UN to Amnesty, fears abound that a new Swiss anti-terror law, which grants sweeping new powers to police to prevent future attacks, threatens Switzerland’s heritage as a human rights leader.
Shocked by the deadly terror attacks in neighbouring France in 2015, Bern produced a new law allowing police to take preventative action more easily when faced with a “potential terrorist.”
The law, which received a parliamentary stamp of approval last year, would apply to a few dozen current cases, according to federal police.
Switzerland has thus far been spared the large-scale attacks seen among its European neighbours.
The authorities nonetheless insist the threat level is high, and have said two knife attacks in the country last year likely had “terrorist motivation.”
