Bild newspaper defies court order
In the case surrounding Nadja Benaissa, singer of the pop group No Angels, side issues are opening up: The Bild newspaper risked a fine of up to 250,000 euros with its Thursday edition because it continued to report on the case. Editor-in-chief Kai Diekmann sees himself as a fighter for press freedom.
In the case surrounding Nadja Benaissa, singer of the pop group No Angels, side issues are opening up: The Bild newspaper risked a fine of up to 250,000 euros with its Thursday edition because it continued to report on the case. Editor-in-chief Kai Diekmann sees himself as a fighter for press freedom.
On Thursday, the newspaper ignored a temporary injunction from the Berlin Regional Court, which forbids the tabloid from reporting on the investigation proceedings against the singer. But Bild was not intimidated by this: "Does Nadja have to go to prison for 10 years?" was the newspaper's headline despite everything. Diekmann justified the continued reporting in a commentary: "If serious crimes are private, the press can no longer report on anything. Then you might as well abolish freedom of the press. A scandalous decision. Sometimes you wonder who is allowed to be a judge in Berlin."
The temporary injunction against Bild was obtained on Tuesday by the law firm Schertz Bergmann. The regional court had weighed up the public interest in information against the client's right to privacy and came to the clear conclusion that reporting must be completely avoided in view of Ms. Benaissa's personal rights, lawyer Schertz was quoted as saying in a press release.
As Kress.de reports, the temporary injunction was issued even though the responsible public prosecutor's office in Darmstadt had previously informed the court about the case itself. Springer also intends to take legal action against the decision of the Berlin Regional Court.
Benaissa was arrested last Saturday just before a concert on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm. She is said to have infected a man with the HI virus during unprotected sex and concealed her infection from him.
On Thursday, the newspaper ignored a temporary injunction from the Berlin Regional Court, which forbids the tabloid from reporting on the investigation proceedings against the singer. But Bild was not intimidated by this: "Does Nadja have to go to prison for 10 years?" was the newspaper's headline despite everything. Diekmann justified the continued reporting in a commentary: "If serious crimes are private, the press can no longer report on anything. Then you might as well abolish freedom of the press. A scandalous decision. Sometimes you wonder who is allowed to be a judge in Berlin."
The temporary injunction against Bild was obtained on Tuesday by the law firm Schertz Bergmann. The regional court had weighed up the public interest in information against the client's right to privacy and came to the clear conclusion that reporting must be completely avoided in view of Ms. Benaissa's personal rights, lawyer Schertz was quoted as saying in a press release.
As Kress.de reports, the temporary injunction was issued even though the responsible public prosecutor's office in Darmstadt had previously informed the court about the case itself. Springer also intends to take legal action against the decision of the Berlin Regional Court.
Benaissa was arrested last Saturday just before a concert on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm. She is said to have infected a man with the HI virus during unprotected sex and concealed her infection from him.
