Nzoy Commission
Moserstrasse 30, 3014 Bern
contact@nzoycommission.org
IBAN CH56 0900 0000 1621 8721 2

The Independent Expert Commission to Investigate the Death of Roger Nzoy Wilhelm

Press release

17.10.2023

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Context of the Roger Nzoy Wilhelm case
Roger Nzoy Wilhelm was shot by an officer of the regional police in the presence of three other police officers at the Morges train station on August 30, 2021, after which he lay on the ground for several minutes without receiving any assistance. The death of Roger Nzoy Wilhelm is one of a series of incidents of massive - sometimes fatal - violence against people of color in Switzerland. In the canton of Vaud alone, Hervé Mandundu, Mike Ben Peter and Lamin Fatty have already died as a result of police action in recent years. In none of these cases were the police officers involved convicted. For this reason, an Independent Commission of Experts has been constituted to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of Roger Nzoy Wilhelm.

Now the work of the commission has become acutely urgent. The Public Prosecutor's Office of the Canton of Vaud, which is entrusted with the case of Roger Nzoy Wilhelm, intends to issue a discontinuance order or a non-acceptance order for negligent homicide and failure to render assistance against the police officers involved. The public prosecutor's office is responsible for investigating cases of police violence, although there is a strong interconnection between these two institutions. The legislature has not established an independent body for cases of police violence, which is why civil society oversight is urgently needed.

Independent Expert Commission
The independent, civil law Expert:innenkommission sets itself the task of comprehensively clarifying the circumstances that led to the death of Roger Nzoy Wilhelm at the Morges train station. The commission is interdisciplinary and consists of renowned experts from the fields of law, medicine, forensics and social sciences. The Commission works free of charge to assert human rights in Switzerland in the interest of the population.

The Independent Commission is guided by the International Independent Commission for the Clarification of the Truth about the Death of Oury Jalloh. Oury Jalloh was beaten and burned to death by police in Dessau prison. The Commission not only uncovered serious deficiencies in the handling of the Oury Jalloh case, but also revealed systematic discrimination, cover-up of circumstantial evidence by police and prosecutors, and other killings by police in the same police station.
The Independent Commission to Uncover the Truth about the Death of Roger Nzoy Wilhelm comprehensively examines and analyzes the legal and police process, investigative files, and related judicial evidence in order to provide counter-opinions, if necessary. It observes the legal process and compares the Roger Nzoy Wilhelm case with other death cases. 

Specifically, the Commission examines whether the use of the firearm was legally justified and necessary and whether Wilhelm's death could have been prevented by appropriate first aid measures by the police. This includes a comprehensive investigation of whether and, if so, which structural deficiencies in the investigation and prosecution of police assaults are conducive to the prevention of detection. This also includes placing the circumstances that led to the death of Roger Nzoy Wilhelm in the historical and social context in Switzerland. 

The Commission will support the case until it is cleared up, if necessary all the way to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. 

Through its work, the independent Expert:inside Commission hopes to contribute to the prevention of further killings. 

For more information, please visit: https://www.nzoycommission.org/
Media inquiries to: nzoycoordination@gmail.com
Donations to: CH56 0900 0000 1621 8721 2, Nzoy Commission, Moserstrasse 30, 3014 Bern, Switzerland


Members of the Commission

Legal Experts
Dr. Philip Stolkin (Attorney at Law)
Benjamin Stückelberger (lawyer, criminologist, DJS)
Brigitte Lembwadio Kanyama (Attorney at Law)
David Mühlemann (jurist)
Maïna Aerni (lawyer)
Soraya Stock (lawyer, Justice4Nzoy alliance)
Yann Vincze (Lawyer)
Yosina Koster (lawyer)

Physicians/psychologists/forensic experts
Prof. em. Udo Rauchfleisch (em. Prof. Dr. Clinical Psychology)
Dr. Maja Hess (physician) 
Dr. Martin Herrmann (general surgeon)
Dr. Max Linus Bauer (Dr. med.)

Social scientists 
Prof. em. Udo Rauchfleisch (Psychologist)
Dr. Noémi Vanessa Michel (political scientist)
Dr. Claske Dijkema (sociologist/geographer/conflict researcher)
Dr. Tino Plümecke (sociologist/science researcher/racism expert)
Dr. des. Claudia Wilopo (cultural scientist/geographer/racism expert)
Jovita dos Santos Pinto (gender researcher/cultural studies/racism and colonialism expert)
Nada Sayed (Islamic Studies)
Emanuel Haab (transdisciplinarity researcher)