A Swiss couple who spent 599 days in prison for allegedly abusing their teenage daughter have been released after she admitted fabricating the accusations. The case highlights the devastating consequences of false abuse allegations, not only for the wrongly convicted parents but also for the wider family, as the girl's younger siblings were also placed into foster care as a result of her lies.

A Zurich court originally deemed the daughter's claims, made when she was 14, to have a "high probability of credibility", despite teachers testifying she frequently lied and reported hearing voices. Her stepfather was sentenced to three years and her mother to 22 months in July 2021, with a 2023 appeal increasing this to 50 months and 47 months respectively. Now 19, she has withdrawn the detailed allegations of physical and sexual abuse, telling Swiss newspaper Tages-Anzeiger she lied because she "only wanted her freedom". The High Court has overturned the convictions, and prosecutors have opened a criminal investigation into her for false accusation and obstruction of justice.