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Mourners bid farewell to murdered Vaud woman

A protestant church at Villars in the canton of Vaud was overflowing with mourners on Monday for the funeral of Marie, the 19-year-old woman killed earlier this month by a convicted murderer.

Published: 27 May 2013 21:08 CEST
Mourners bid farewell to murdered Vaud woman
Marie: her death has elicited an outpouring of sympathy — and calls for tougher treatment of criminals. Photo: Vaud cantonal police

Around 500 people attended the 90-minute memorial service, too many to fit in the stone church in the mountain town, so people were forced to stand outside, according to the ATS news agency.

“The unspeakable will not have the last word,” pastor Pierre Maffli said during the service, ATS reported.

“We must refuse the hatred that would stain our hearts,” Maffli said.

“God is here, he cries with us.”

Well-wishers left dozens of notes of condolences and support.

The mayor of Villars, Jean-Luc Chollet, told the congregation that “all the community was profoundly touched.”

Marie was buried on Monday morning.

She was kidnapped on May 13th near Payerne, where she was living, by a 36-year-old man under house arrest, who was wearing an electronic ankle bracelet while serving a sentence for abducting, raping and killing a former girlfriend.

Marie was found dead in a wood in the canton of Fribourg two days later following the arrest of a man identified as Claude Dubois.

The case has caused a popular outcry, with questions raised about how a man with such a record could have been at liberty.

Last week, the head of the Vaud cantonal government, Pierre-Yves Maillard, made a solemn declaration before parliament in support of the family, expressing both sympathy and “horror” over what happened.

Maillard noted that the results of an investigation ordered into the case by the cantonal court are expected at the end of June. 

In the wake of Marie’s death, authorities in the canton of Vaud have already decided to no longer allow prisoners classified as dangerous to wear electronic bracelets.

Marie, originally from Madagascar, was the offspring of a mixed marriage.

Her father, another pastor in Villars, has refused to back a call for tougher criminal penalties in Switzerland.

“You are a bastion of love in face of horror and the unthinkable,” he told the church gathering.

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CRIME

‘Your permit is invalid’: Foreigners in Switzerland warned to avoid new scam

Scores of foreign residents have received an email recently telling them their residency rights in Switzerland have been revoked.

Published: 26 April 2024 11:17 CEST
Updated: 2 May 2024 15:04 CEST
'Your permit is invalid': Foreigners in Switzerland warned to avoid new scam

A number of foreign nationals, especially in the German-speaking part of the country, have received an official-looking letter, purportedly from the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) informing them that the Free Movement of People agreement between Switzerland and the EU has been nullified, and therefore “your residence permit is no longer valid.”

Faced with enquiries from concerned recipients, SEM responded that the letter is fake, advising recipients to ignore it and, above all, not to click on the QR code on the top.

“Fake letters from the SEM have been circulating since the beginning of this week,” the immigration authority said on its website as well as on X (formerly Twitter).  

“The letter has no impact on the recipient’s  residence status,” SEM added.

Fake jobs, real threats

However, this is only the latest scam perpetrated in the name of SEM.

There have been others in the past.

For instance, many foreigners have also received emails from addresses swissimmigration@consultant or eu_immigration@consultant, that pretend to be the Swiss immigration authority.

“In most cases, a fictitious job in the hotel industry is offered, with the senders demanding payment of 300 to 1,000 euros for a permit in Switzerland and for health and accident insurance,” SEM reported.

The first clue that this email doesn’t come from  SEM, which is part of Switzerland’s government, is that it is asking for payment in euros. If the scammers were smarter, they’d demand Swiss francs.

“These e-mails do not come from the SEM and should be considered as an attempt at fraud,” the agency said. 

Extortion attempt

And a few years ago, a number of foreigners received emails coming allegedly from SEM, Swiss border control authorities, or even the Federal Office of Police (Fedpol).

They threatened to revoke the victim’s residence permit or even expel them from the country altogether if they didn’t pay a certain sum of money into an anonymous account.

Needless to say, no government authority would ever resort to blackmail or demand payment for such ‘services’.

So a good rule to remember (for foreigners and Swiss alike) is that if threats and pressure are involved, letters / emails / phone calls ( WhatsUp messages are more than likely scams.
 
READ ALSO: The common scams foreigners in Switzerland need to be aware of 

Don’t respond

SEM as well as police urge everyone contacted by scammers, by whatever means to:

  • Ignore these messages by hanging up the phone and / or deleting emails, moving them to the Spam folder
  • Never give out your credit card number or bank account information to people you don’t know
  • If you did give your card number, contact your credit card company immediately to have the card blocked. Likewise, if you gave out your banking details, get in touch with your bank.
  • In the event of threats of extortion attempts, consider filing a criminal complaint. You can search for police stations in your area on the Police website. 
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