Press Council: Privacy despite double murder

The first was Radiotelevisione Svizzera (RSI), which reported in several broadcast outlets last December that a truck driver had been arrested in the Brusio double murder case. The man, who was given his full name, was suspected of having ordered the murder in November 2010. Then the online portals of the Ticino daily newspapers Giornale del Popolo and Corriere del Ticino followed suit with the naming. Family members of the arrested man subsequently complained to the Swiss Press Council, claiming a violation of the "Declaration of the Duties and Rights of Journalists".

Respect privacy

The complaint was upheld: Press Council recalls in its decision published Tuesday that media professionals are obliged to respect the privacy of the individual person, unless the public interest requires the opposite. The person arrested in connection with the double murder in Brusio was not a public figure. Even an arrest in a sensational double murder does not justify a public interest in identifying reporting, the Press Council further writes. Also criticized is the apparently widespread practice in the canton of Ticino of naming names in the case of serious crimes. The newspapers criticized were also not allowed to assume that the name of the arrested person was already generally known, because RSI had previously reported in an identifying manner. The Press Council did not address the complaint against RSI's reporting because parallel proceedings are underway with RSI's ombudsman. (SDA)