Guantanamo Prisoner comes to Switzerland, Merkel Pursues Tax Cheats, Brits Discourage Binge Drinking

Reuters report that an Uzbek prisoner held at the Amercian military prison at Guantanamo Bay has been sent to Switzerland for resettlement. The prisoner is the latest to be moved from the jail. Guantanamo Bay has long been criticized by human rights activists and foreign governments. Obama and other critics say the prison has become a recruiting symbol for anti-American militants.

The US Justice Department didn’t say who the Uzbek national sent to Switzerland was. Last month Swiss Justice Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf said he will get immigrant status and be eligible to work. Switzerland agreed to take the Guantanamo detainee on humanitarian grounds and said that he posed no danger, having been cleared for release in 2005.

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Angela Merkel says Germany will buy a list of alleged tax evaders hiding money in Switzerland, if it is genuine. The BBC reports that up to 1,500 Germans are alleged to have stashed millions in secret bank accounts across the border. The information is apparently being offered by an IT specialist who once worked at HSBC in Geneva. 

However Doris Leuthard, Switzerland's president, has warned foreign governments against using illegally acquired bank data to pinch tax evaders; she says that governments should not use information obtained from criminals. According to the media reports, the secret informant approached the German fiscal authorities and demanded 2.5 million euros for the data; according to some estimates the information could net the German taxman as much as 200 million euros in recovered taxes.

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 A new British government safety campaign warns young Brits against the dangers of drinking in the mountains. Swissinfo reports that posters with the slogan “Don’t catch your death” have been put up at Geneva airport and several Swiss ski resorts to raise awareness among British tourists of the risks of binge drinking on a skiing holiday.

The initiative was jointly launched in Switzerland, France and Italy just before the Christmas holidays to target the one million British tourists visiting the Alps this winter.

According to British diplomats, more than 30 Britons were involved in alpine accidents last year, half of them under 25. Many died because they underestimated the risk of drinking at high altitude.

However Swiss police, tourist authorities and ski resorts largely reject the notion that there is an alcohol problem with British holidaymakers. One bar owner said that Brits don’t usually go over the top, especially with the current dire exchange rate.