Press Council: Blick disregards victim protection and violates privacy

Blick published the full names and portrait pictures of the two suspects involved and asked "Did he defile her?". SVP cantonal councillor Markus Hürlimann also complained to the Press Council about this and other articles published in Blick. With its first article on the so-called Zug sex affair, the newspaper had violated the journalists' code in several respects, according to a statement published by the Press Council on Tuesday. Since Blick had obviously assumed that a sexual offense had possibly occurred, it had violated the protection of victims by identifying the alleged victim. With the subsequent discontinuation of the proceedings, it has been legally established that no sexual offense was committed. In the opinion of the Press Council, possible sexual contact clearly falls within the scope of protected privacy. As a rule, there is "no overriding public interest to the contrary", writes the Press Council.

Blick had argued that an intimate contact between the then co-president of the Alternative/The Greens and the then SVP cantonal president had a dimension that took the matter beyond the private sphere. However, the Press Council did not follow this argument. Blick had violated Spiess-Hegglin's private and intimate sphere. Even the fact that she later spoke out in public herself cannot be accepted as justification by the Press Council.

Hürlimann's appeal also upheld

The Press Council also partially upheld Markus Hürlimann's complaint against several Blick articles. It found that Blick had violated privacy and intimacy, published unverifiable rumors and had not heard the accused about the allegations. "What took place behind closed doors cannot be the subject of media reporting," writes the Press Council. On the other hand, Blick was allowed to report that Hürlimann was temporarily detained on suspicion of a sexual offense. According to the Press Council, this is undoubtedly of public interest. However, Hürlimann should have been heard about these serious allegations. The fact that he was detained overnight was no reason to dispense with this hearing. The publisher had taken note of the Press Council's statement, Ringier spokesperson Edi Estermann said on request. "The decision was discussed within the editorial team and the measures we derived from it were taken."

Affair legally concluded

The morning after the Landammann celebration in December 2014, Jolanda Spiess-Hegglin went to hospital with no memory of the previous evening and with abdominal pain, according to her own account. Her fellow cantonal councillor Markus Hürlimann was then suspected of having drugged her with knockout drops. Hürlimann had always denied this. Although there had been an approach, it had been consensual. The affair is legally closed. The proceedings against Hürlimann were discontinued last September. (SDA)