"Büschi case": Bund journalist acquitted

Court President Daniel Gerber acquitted the journalist of the charge of publishing official secret proceedings. The author of the article of July 9, 2011 had justifiably weighed the public interest in the case higher than the authorities' interest in secrecy.

The Supervisory Commission had classified the minutes of May 16, 2011 as confidential. The meeting was about the City of Berne's financial inspector Beat Büschi, who had uncovered irregularities in the social welfare system and then came under criticism himself.

He had investigated the suspicion that the disciplinary proceedings against Büschi could have been an act of revenge by the municipal council, the Bund journalist told the court. At the beginning of July, he had been leaked the minutes with explosive statements, including on the limited functionality of the financial inspectorate.

Unknown source

It remains a mystery how the protocol came to the federal government: the journalist did not want to reveal his source, and the public prosecutor's investigation had already come to nothing last year.

Only the journalist was caught up in the mills of justice: The public prosecutor's office had fined him 400 francs. He defended himself against this, which is why the main hearing took place on Wednesday.

The Bund journalist argued that he considered it a central task of the media to keep an eye on those in power. In a city that has been governed by the same party alliance for 20 years, the media must take a particularly close look.

He quoted from the confidential minutes in order to shed more light on the Büschi case. The legal department of Bund owner tamedia had given the green light: "If it's worth the story, it should be done." If necessary, they would accept "the few hundred francs" in fines.

In his plea, the defense lawyer emphasized that the minutes were confidential, but not secret. It did not contain any state secrets and his client had made a significant contribution to a public debate by publishing it.

The public prosecutor's office stayed away from the trial: it exercised its right not to represent the prosecution in person in court.

Issues of public interest

Court President Gerber essentially followed the argumentation of the defense. In fact, the report had been drafted objectively. Its relevance was demonstrated by the fact that it had triggered a veritable avalanche of parliamentary motions and the resignation of a city councillor.

With the help of the minutes, the newspaper was able to address two issues of public interest: The limited functionality of the financial inspectorate and the way in which the city of Berne's government deals with internal critics.

Gerber justified his acquittal by stating that the federal journalist had therefore performed the control function expressly granted to the media by the legislator. The costs of the proceedings and legal fees will be borne by the state.