June 21, 2015
Philip Nitschke’s Edinburgh Fringe Show to Go Ahead after UK Police Drop Inquiry
London police have dropped an investigation into allegations that voluntary euthanasia advocate, Dr Philip Nitschke, encouraged or assisted suicide while in Britain.
The controversial Australian doctor – currently suspended from practising in his home country – was questioned under caution in April after complaints were made while he was preparing for his Edinburgh Fringe festival comedy show.
The show, placed on hold during investigations, will now go ahead but audience members will be required to sign a legal waiver, Nitschke told Guardian Australia.
Nitschke, who is head of voluntary euthanasia group, Exit International, was warned he faced arrest when he went in to Charing Cross police station for questioning in April, over allegations he had encouraged or assisted suicide. The offence carries a prison sentence of up to 14 years in Britain.
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However in a letter to Nitschke this month, police from the homicide and major crime command’s special enquiry team informed him they will be taking no further action regarding the allegations, after conducting a review of all the material gathered in the course of their investigation.
The allegations reportedly related to a 2013 Exit International workshop he held in the UK, and his preparations for an Edinburgh show ‘Dicing with Dr Death’.
The fringe show now has a green light to go ahead, Nitschke said, however that audience members would need to sign disclaimers that they would not use any of the material presented to end their or anyone else’s life.
“There seems to be a peculiar sensitivity in Britain in regard to ‘talking about’ and ‘inciting’ rational suicide. This is not shared by other English speaking countries such as Australia, Canada or the US,” he said.
“This is expected to be the first show in the history of the Fringe where audiences will need to sign off on the legalities in order to get home afterwards.”
Nitschke said he believed police would be watching the show closely, but he intended to “push the free speech boundaries”.
The London Metropolitan Police force said it expected to have further information about the investigation’s end in coming days.
Nitschke said he was given “almost no detail” about the nature of the complaints when he went in for questioning, but was asked about previous workshops held in Britain as well as his plans for the Edinburgh show.
A letter sent to police in February by Nitschke’s lawyer, Mark Stephens, in response to their request for an interview, accused the force of attempting to breach freedom of speech rights.
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“A police force that snoops upon those preparing to dispense ideas and information and demands to investigate with the objective of preparing for a prosecution is certainly breaching that right which you should realise is very precious in this country,” read the letter.
“We cannot see any legal basis for your demand to interview Dr Nitschke, however he is happy to cooperate with police for any legitimate enquiry. So perhaps you could let us know if your interest in him has any statutory basis.”
The letter suggested the police action appeared to be designed to “chill” Nitschke’s performance, and offered tickets to the show for officers.
A short reply from police detailed the original complaint had been made by a religious group, the Independent reported.
Nitschke has been in the spotlight this year, most recently after he provided medical assistance to a terminally ill man on a flight into Sydney from Los Angeles.
In July last year Nitschke’s medical registration was suspended by the South Australian branch of the Medical Board of Australia (MBA), following allegations he counselled 45-year-old Nigel Brayley to take his own life.
Brayley was depressed but otherwise healthy, and had written to Nitschke offering to send his final correspondence to the doctor. It later emerged he was being investigated in connection to the death of his wife and the disappearance of a former girlfriend.
Nitschke has been in and out of court to challenge the board’s decision, maintaining he did nothing wrong, that there was no doctor-patient relationship between he and Brayley which obligated him to intervene, and that he was being made a “scapegoat” because the board disagreed with his views on euthanasia.