No appeal: Rocchi case is over
The Neuchâtel Public Prosecutor's Office is not appealing the ruling of the Court of Coercive Measures, which had found the search of the home of Western Swiss journalist Ludovic Rocchi to be illegal. This brings the legal dispute to a close.
The compulsory measures court ruled at the end of May that freedom of the press should have taken precedence. This view was "very advantageous" for the press and also for public officials who bypassed hierarchies and asked internal questions publicly, the Neuchâtel public prosecutor's office announced on Tuesday. The search of Rocchi's home took place in August 2013 following a complaint from a professor at the University of Neuchâtel. Following accusations of plagiarism by the newspaper Le Matin, the professor accused the journalist of defamation, libel and violation of official secrecy. The newspaper Le Matin and its parent company Tamedia were very pleased to have been vindicated in the Rocchi case. In this way, a fundamental right for the media and democracy had been defended. (SDA)
