Accusation of defamation: Ueli Haldimann acquitted
On Wednesday, the Zurich District Court acquitted Ueli Haldimann of the charge of defamation. He had been accused of calling a cameraman a "slanderous person" and of defaming him in an email.
The accuser's allegations date back to October 2008. At that time, the now 58-year-old Ueli Haldimann was still editor-in-chief of Swiss Television and had fallen out with a long-time cameraman. According to the indictment, Haldimann had called the employee a scumbag and a liar to a third party. Three weeks later, the cadre had an e-mail published within the editorial team. In it, Haldimann accused the plaintiff of having written down too much overtime.
The cameraman sued for defamation and demanded compensation of CHF 24,361 from the district court in addition to compensation for pain and suffering of CHF 5,000. He spoke of a fight for honor, as one cannot put up with everything. His reputation had been damaged by Haldimann.
Haldimann rejected the allegations, in particular the insults claimed by the plaintiff. These were not part of his "active vocabulary". His defense lawyer demanded a full acquittal and classified the e-mail as factually justified criticism in the context of a protracted work dispute.
Haldimann's statement "cheeky, but justifiable"
The court agreed with the defense and acquitted Haldimann. The first charge of defamation was not even considered due to a late criminal complaint. In the case of the e-mail, the court considered defamation to be objectively fulfilled. But not from a subjective point of view, as Haldimann could not be proven to have acted with intent. The court described Haldimann's wording as unfortunate and even cheeky, but justifiable in the overall context of the dispute. As a result of the acquittal, the costs of the investigation were borne by the state. (SDA)
(Image: Keystone)
