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Two police officers from the Zurich City Police (symbolic picture)
Photo: Andreas Haas / imago images/ imago images/Andreas Haas
The President of the Swiss Vaccination Commission, Christoph Berger, was apparently kidnapped by a German at the end of March.
This is reported by various Swiss media, including the "Neue Zürcher Zeitung" and the "Tagesanzeiger".
On Sunday, the doctor spoke up himself.
Accordingly, he was in the power of an extortionist for an hour.
"During this time, he confronted me with a demand for a substantial amount of money," the alleged kidnapping victim wrote in his statement.
The perpetrator threatened him.
As the face of the Swiss vaccination campaign, Berger gained national fame during the corona pandemic.
It was initially unclear whether the kidnapping therefore had a political dimension.
Two dead in gunfire with police
As Berger announced, the perpetrator's motive had no connection to Corona.
Rather, the only economic interests of the perpetrator were in the foreground and the kidnapping had nothing to do with his role as head of the vaccination commission.
When he assured the kidnapper that he would meet the demands, he let him go.
After the doctor had informed the police, officials came across a 38-year-old German who had lived in Switzerland for a long time.
When the arrest was attempted, there was an exchange of gunfire near Zurich on Wednesday evening.
According to the police, the 38-year-old killed his 28-year-old companion.
He was so badly injured by police shots that he died.
A 34-year-old Swiss man was also arrested in the context of the investigation.
Further details initially remained unclear.
tfb/dpa