A long history of neutrality, decidedly well out of the European Union and one of the richest countries in the world; if there’s one thing Switzerland’s good at, it’s protecting its own interests. In September 2006 the Swiss people voted to extend these interests into backing tough laws on asylum seekers. This sees anyone without documentation arrested and incarcerated in a detention centre for up to 24 months, without recourse to a lawyer, while they await inevitable deportation – which comes on the day without any warning or goodbyes.

Fernand Melgar’s fly-on-the-wall documentary takes us into Frambois Prison in Geneva, where around 20 men await their fate. Torn away from their jobs, wives and children, these are people who have paid their taxes, become integrated into society and consider themselves Swiss citizens. All of them have been in Switzerland for a significant amount of time – some as long as 20 years. And yet they are locked in their cells at night and shackled during court visits with humiliating cavity searches awaiting them on their return. Everything about the way they are treated suggests they are dangerous criminals; when they are eventually deported, they are strapped to chairs, bent double with masks covering their faces like Hannibal Lecter.

The filming is slightly rough around the edges, and it’s clear Melgar struggled to identify which inmates would prove to be the most compelling characters in its early scenes. But as grown men cry as their spirits break in front of your eyes, the message does not fail to overwhelm; the breach of human rights exposed in this film must surely get the international community knocking on Switzerland’s door demanding change. It’s one thing to deport people, and quite another to ruthlessly tear families apart and subject human beings to such degrading and, in some cases, life-threatening treatment.

And this from the same country that created the Red Cross.