Criminal proceedings against Weltwoche discontinued
The criminal proceedings against Weltwoche for a controversial cover picture on the subject of Roma have been dropped. Corinne Bouvard, spokeswoman for the Zurich public prosecutor's office, told the Zurich/Schaffhausen regional journal on Monday.
At the beginning of April, the weekly newspaper showed a small Roma boy on the cover, pointing a pistol at the viewer. The picture with the caption "The Roma are coming: Robberies through Switzerland" illustrated a report on Roma crime.
"The cover picture together with the content of the article does not disparage the Roma as a people," said Bouvard on Monday evening on Radio DRS, explaining why the case was dropped. The article merely addresses the abuse of children by Roma clans, said the spokeswoman for the public prosecutor's office.
The picture had originally been taken in a completely different context, as it later turned out. The pistol was a toy weapon. After the cover picture was published, it was met with criticism. It was said to be racist and in breach of the criminal law on racism.
Several complaints were filed. The Zurich public prosecutor's office then launched a criminal investigation to clarify whether Weltwoche's cover image violated the anti-racism penal code. (SDA)
