Two people have been arrested on suspicion of assisting the suicide of a severely disabled man who travelled from Britain to Switzerland to die.
Douglas Sinclair, a retired engineer who suffered from the debilitating disorder multiple system atrophy, is believed to have travelled to an assisted suicide clinic in Zurich, where he died about five weeks ago.
Subsequently, a death notice in the Shields Gazette newspaper said Mr Douglas, a widower, died “peacefully and with dignity following an illness courageously borne”.
However, Northumbria Police said on 2 September 2010:
“A 47-year-old woman and a 48-year-old man from South Shields have been arrested on suspicion of intentionally doing an act to assist or encourage suicide following the death of a 76-year-old man in Switzerland. Both have been bailed pending further inquiries.”
In February 2010, Keir Starmer QC, the Director of Public Prosecutions for England and Wales, had issued guidelines on assisted suicide saying that prosecutions will be unlikely if the act of assisting suicide was “motivated by compassion”. The guidelines have been heavily criticised from many quarters including disability groups, members of the House of Lords and former judges.
It was revealed in 2009 that several Britons who had committed suicide at the Dignitas suicide clinic in Switzerland were suffering from “treatable” conditions. The clinic was reported as being under investigation after helping a physically healthy man who suffered from depression to kill himself.
Sources