26 Aug 2014

NZ citizen charged over Swiss murder

8:30 pm on 26 August 2014

A man arrested for the killing of his partner in Switzerland more than a decade ago has appeared in an Auckland court.

The man, who has name suppression, has been charged with the murder of a woman in Basel in December 2000.

Judge Ema Aitken remanded him in custody when he appeared at the Auckland District Court today to reappear in a week's time.

A police spokesperson said the man arrived in New Zealand in February 2001 using false identification and travel documents. He was granted New Zealand citizenship in 2004.

The spokesperson said when police arrested the man this morning, they served him with a letter from the Department of Internal Affairs advising him that he could be deprived of his New Zealand citizenship.

There is no extradition arrangement between New Zealand and Switzerland.

However, the spokesperson said police had been working with Swiss authorities since confirming the man's identity and living arrangements in Auckland in late 2011.

This had led to his arrest and the start of the process of his repatriation to Switzerland, where he lived from 1990 until late 2000.