Sonntagsblick journalist reports to public prosecutor

Riklin had been reported by Christoph Mörgeli. The public prosecutor's office in Bern is investigating her on suspicion of violating official secrecy because she allegedly made remarks to journalists in the lobby of the National Council that an expert report on the dissertations supervised by Mörgeli, which had not yet been published at the time, was not in his favor. This is according to the NZZ am Sonntag.

As is now known, the public prosecutor's office already questioned two witnesses in February. A journalist from Schweiz am Sonntag did not provide any substantive information as he could no longer remember. In contrast, his colleague from Sonntagsblick provided detailed information about his conversation in the Federal Palace during questioning. The journalist testified, although the public prosecutor explicitly informed him of his right to refuse to testify. Journalists have this right so that they can protect their sources from prosecution.

When asked, the journalist said that the conversation with Riklin was "not confidential". "If we journalists try to protect sources at every opportunity, we weaken its value," he added.

Dominique von Burg, President of the Press Council and former editor-in-chief of the Tribune de Genève, however, condemns the Sonntagsblick journalist's actions as unethical. Except when, for example, life and limb are at stake in a kidnapping, journalists should always remain silent about the conversations they have had with the law enforcement authorities, says von Burg. "If journalists' interlocutors have to expect that their statements will be reported to a public prosecutor, this undermines trust in the media and hinders them in their important function in terms of state policy," says von Burg: "If this sets a precedent, no one will say anything to journalists anymore." (NZZ am Sonntag)