Florian Willet, CEO of The Last Resort, Dies in Germany After Assisting Death with 'Sarco' Last Year
Detained for 70 Days Following First Use of Sarco Capsule in Switzerland
Florian Willet, 47, the CEO of the Swiss euthanasia advocacy group The Last Resort, which operates the capsule-shaped assisted dying device 'Sarco,' has died.
On June 1, The Last Resort announced on its website that Willet had died in Germany on May 5.
Willet, a German-born doctor of neuropsychology and behavioral economics, served as a spokesperson for the assisted dying organization Dignitas until 2022, and took on the role of CEO at The Last Resort last year.
On September 23 last year, he assisted the death of a 64-year-old American woman using the capsule-shaped assisted dying device Sarco for the first time in a forest in Schaffhausen, Switzerland, but was arrested on charges of assisting and inciting suicide. While Switzerland permits assisted dying, investigative authorities have not approved the use of Sarco, judging that it does not meet legal requirements related to safety or chemicals.
Swiss prosecutors arrested Willet on suspicion that the capsule may not have functioned as intended and that he may have killed the woman. However, these suspicions were not substantiated, and Willet was released after being detained for 70 days. It is reported that he suffered psychological trauma afterward. Philip Nitschke, the Australian doctor who developed Sarco, told the BBC, "Dr. Willet carried more burdens in the last few months of his life than anyone else."
Meanwhile, assisted dying refers to situations in which a patient with no prospect of recovery chooses death by administering medication or similar means. It is distinguished from euthanasia, in which a healthcare professional directly acts to shorten life, by the fact that the patient themselves carries out the prescribed action.
If you are struggling with depression or difficult concerns, or if you have a family member or acquaintance experiencing such difficulties, you can receive 24-hour expert counseling through the suicide prevention hotline ☎109 or the suicide prevention SNS counseling service 'Madeulraen'.
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