Kidnapper pretended to be a police officer

On Wednesday evening (April 6th) the police in Wallisellen carried out a large-scale operation to arrest the suspect in a kidnapping case. But the arrest operation fails. The man draws his gun and a shootout ensues with the police. The suspected kidnapper first shoots his companion before he himself is hit and killed by at least one bullet from a police officer’s gun.

Later it became known: The 38-year-old German is said to have kidnapped Christoph Berger, the president of the national vaccination commission and a central figure in Swiss corona politics.

On Monday (April 11) new details in the kidnapping case became known: For a second person who is said to have participated in the act, the compulsory measures court ordered pre-trial detention at the request of the Zurich public prosecutor’s office. This will be communicated by the senior public prosecutor’s office upon request.

The 34-year-old Swiss is accused, among other things, of participation in the deprivation of liberty, kidnapping and attempted extortion. The role played by the alleged kidnapper’s companion is also being investigated.

The investigations are still in the early stages. An overview of what is known – and what remains unclear.

The kidnapping case is at the center of the investigation. According to the police and public prosecutor, the 38-year-old German is suspected of kidnapping a man for several hours on March 31 in the canton of Zurich. According to Tamedia newspapers he is said to have pretended to be a police officer and asked the victim – the nationally known doctor Christoph Berger – in front of his home to come with him. At a previously unknown location, the kidnapper then threatened Berger with a gun. After about an hour, he finally released his victim.

Another man, a 34-year-old Swiss man, was arrested in connection with the kidnapping. His arrest took place in a neighboring canton and he is now in custody. The public prosecutor suspects the business partner of having been involved in the kidnapping.

For the first time about the prominent kidnapping victim Christoph Berger Tamedia newspapers reported on Friday (April 8). On Sunday (April 10), the President of the National Vaccination Commission confirmed this in a personal statement. Before that, the Tamedia newspapers had to remove the information on Berger’s identity from their reporting due to a court intervention. There was no super-provisional injunction against the NZZ.

Berger’s personal details are relevant because the kidnapping case potentially has a political dimension: during the corona pandemic, Berger had become a nationally known person – and the enemy of opponents of the measures.

The doctor was the face of the national vaccination campaign against the corona virus. For opponents of vaccination, he became a red rag, especially when it came to the subject of child vaccination. At the same time, he also annoyed advocates of strict protective measures with cautious statements. Berger, who heads the infectious diseases and hospital hygiene department at the Zurich Children’s Hospital full-time, is one of those scientists who have become sought-after pandemic experts and permanent media guests in recent years.

Berger told the NZZ in January that he was not prepared for the shitstorms and hostilities that ensued.

Due to the earlier hostilities against him, there was initially a suspicion that Berger had been kidnapped because of his exposure during the pandemic. However, he himself revised this view in his statement: “This narrative contradicts my personal experience during the kidnapping.” At the same time, he is aware of the great emotional and social tensions that vaccination issues have had over the past two years.

During the kidnapping, the kidnapper “demanded a substantial amount of money,” Berger continues. The perpetrator’s economic interests were therefore in the foreground. The kidnapper made no reference to his role as President of the Vaccination Commission. After Berger assured the perpetrator that his demands would be met, he released him again. Berger then immediately got in touch with the canton police, who have looked after him and his family very well ever since. “The protection of my family was in this phase and of course still my top priority,” writes the doctor.

The investigations by the police and the public prosecutor’s office are investigating whether other motives could play a role in the kidnapping in addition to financial reasons.

The perpetrator is a 38-year-old German who lived in Switzerland. He has not yet made an appearance in the canton of Zurich. However, he had a soft spot for guns. The police found several weapons and ammunition during a house search in an apartment in Wallisellen. according to the Tamedia newspapers, the man was a regular guest at a shooting range in Spreitbach, the Swiss Shooting Group. He is also said to have been close to the Civilian Training Unit, a group of marksmen from Volketswil. Pictures and videos of the group show militarily equipped men engaged in tactical shooting.

The public prosecutor’s office has launched an investigation into intentional killing and kidnapping against the man. Since he died in the shooting, there will be no charges and a subsequent trial in his case. The investigation will instead be closed after the investigation is completed.

These mainly affect the 34-year-old Swiss, who the police also arrested in connection with the kidnapping case. This is a business partner of the German who was killed in Wallisellen. He is suspected of being involved in the kidnapping. His exact role in the case is still unclear.

What is clear, however, is that the 34-year-old was deeply involved in conspiracy theorists. For example, he is a supporter of the flat-earth theory, according to which the earth is flat. He managed a Facebook page and gave an online medium a corresponding interview. He also shared corona-skeptical posts on Facebook. He also marched in the demonstration by critics of the measures in Liestal in March 2021, as the “Sonntags-Blick” reports.

According to the public prosecutor’s office, the companion who was killed is a 28-year-old Swiss woman residing in Switzerland. It is the girlfriend of the alleged kidnapper. It is now clear why the woman lost her life. According to the report by the Institute for Forensic Medicine at the University of Zurich and the Forensic Institute in Zurich, the 28-year-old died from a gunshot from the 38-year-old German.

It is not yet clear whether she even knew about the kidnapping. In any case, the public prosecutor’s office is now investigating any involvement. “As part of the criminal investigation that has already been opened in connection with the events surrounding the kidnapping, the role played by the deceased 28-year-old Swiss woman is also being examined,” writes the Zurich public prosecutor’s office on request.

As the public prosecutor’s office announced on Thursday (April 7), they have opened proceedings against the police officers involved. On Monday (April 11) she also announced that two police officers were affected.

This corresponds to the standard procedure in such cases. In the case of a killing by a police officer, the public prosecutor’s office must clarify whether the firing of the shot was proportionate. In general, the use of firearms is only permitted if police officers themselves are threatened with life and limb, i.e. if they are acting in self-defense. The pistol can also be used when the life and limb of third parties is threatened and the police are thus providing self-defense assistance to others. It is rare for police officers to take up arms.

The crime scene is in the Zwicky area in the Zurich suburb of Wallisellen. The shooting took place in the parking lot in front of the residential towers in the Waldhaus Neuguet housing estate. The apartment of the alleged kidnapper, where the police seized weapons and ammunition, is also located in this settlement. Pictures from the night of the crime show brightly lit windows on the 14th floor, where neighbors say the perpetrator’s apartment is located. The settlement itself is on a former industrial site right on the border with Dübendorf.