The “Sarco” suicide capsule, which has never been used before, is designed to allow a person sitting in a reclining seat inside to push a button that injects nitrogen gas into the sealed chamber. The person is then supposed to fall asleep and die by suffocation in a few minutes.

Criminal proceedings have been launched against “several people for incitement and aiding and abetting suicide,” police said.

Police in northern Switzerland said Tuesday that several people have been detained and a criminal case opened in connection with the suspected death of a person in a new “suicide capsule.”

A criminal investigation has been opened after prosecutors in Schaffhausen were informed by a law firm that an “assisted suicide” involving the Sarco capsule had taken place near a forest cabin in Merishausen. They said several people had been taken into custody with investigators looking at possible incitement and accessory to suicide.

The “Sarco” suicide capsule, which has never been used before, is designed to allow a person inside to push a button that injects nitrogen gas into the sealed chamber. The person is then supposed to fall asleep and die by suffocation in a few minutes.

The legality of using the 3D-printed device for its intended purpose of helping assisted dying is being questioned by authorities in Switzerland.

An innovative but contentious assisted suicide device known as Sarco has ignited a legal frenzy in Switzerland.