Man Sentenced to 5 Years Imprisonment for Attacking Kenyan Drug Dealer in Switzerland

A 26 year old man originally from Kosovo was this week sentenced to five years imprisonment by the district court in Horgen for assault, robbery and going against the Migration laws.

The man holds three prior convictions for assault and affray, which he got while still a minor. His last sentence in 2008, he was sentenced to 44 months imprisonment.

After serving his sentence in 2011, the migration office issued him with a deportation notice. However, he had moved to Germany as a young child and therefore knew no one in Kosovo and his mother who also lives in Switzerland was terminally ill. Afraid he would never be able to see his mother again if he returned to Kosovo, he decided to live underground. He worked illegal jobs and was accommodated by friends or slept outside under a bridge or at a construction site.

In 2012 he accompanied a friend to a construction site in Adliswil, where the friend planned to pick his wages. The 26 year old then got into a fight with the boss and broke his (the Boss’) nose.

A month later, he beat a Kenyan man with a wooden bar and caused him serious injuries. Allegedly, the Kenyan is a well-known drug dealer, and the Kosovar had gone to him to buy drugs. However, even after paying 200 Swiss Francs, the Kenyan didn’t deliver any “goods”.

In 2014, he got involved in another fight at a construction site where he broke a colleague’s nose in a fight.

Given the many offenses and the long criminal history, his defense lawyer, Valentin Landmann pleaded with the court for no more than four years imprisonment. It is clear he has to leave the country, but Landmann requested the court to allow him to take up an Ausbildung. “With an Ausbildung, he will also have a chance in Kosovo”, Landmann told the court.

In his testimony in court, he shared of how hard his life had been on moving to Switzerland as a young child. Living in rural Aargau, as the only foreigner, he was bullied by other children leading him into the wrong company that at least offered him solace.

The prosecutor called instead for five and a half years of imprisonment, describing the attacks as “violent excesses of a young adult that are second to none”.

The judges at the District court in Horgen instead decided on a five year sentence with no Ausbildung. According to them, there are few places for the Ausbildung in prison and those spaces should be reserved for those that will remain in Switzerland. The Kosovar however, has the option to work in prison and earn some money to sustain himself once he returns to Kosovo.