Ruling overturned on "illegal" romance
A 50-year-old Swiss man who had a brief romance with a woman who turned out to be in the country illegally will not be punished.
The Federal Court reversed the conviction of the man, who in February was deemed by a court in canton Vaud to have breached Swiss immigration laws and ordered to pay SFr210 ($194) in addition to a suspended fine of SFr300.
The woman, whom the man had met on the internet, visited his home eight or nine times, with each visit lasting one or two days.
The man called police after the two had an argument and she refused to leave.
It turned out that the woman didn't have any papers and the man was charged with facilitating the illegal stay of a person in Switzerland.
In his ruling, the Federal Court judge said the man had not committed any wrongdoing. Giving someone a roof for a couple of days didn't show criminal intent, he added.
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