Frei.Wild receives justice

He had mentioned the band "in the same breath" as two right-wing extremist bands in a caption. The journalist will be punished with a conditional fine of 30 daily rates of 180 francs each, as the court ruled on Monday. The public prosecutor's office had demanded a conditional fine of 45 daily rates of CHF 180 each and a fine of CHF 2,000.

On December 15, 2015, an article by the journalist appeared on the 20 Minuten online portal with the headline "When harmless clothing becomes a provocation". The article was accompanied by a series of 18 photos. This contained a selection of items of clothing that are often worn by right-wing extremists. The fourth picture showed a T-shirt from the South Tyrolean band Frei.Wild.

The author wrote the following legend under the picture: "A right-wing extremist conviction can also be conveyed in a more hidden way, for example through T-shirts by bands such as Frei.Wild, Landser or Skrewdriver."

The Zurich court ruled on Monday that the bands Landser and Screwdriver were demonstrably right-wing extremists. By comparing the band Frei.Wild with them, the editor had "lumped them together" and thus pushed them into the extreme right-wing corner. And the term "right-wing extremist" is considered defamatory in Switzerland.

Defamation

The court found that this constituted the criminal offense of defamation. In addition to the fine, the journalist must pay the court and investigation costs. The court refrained from imposing a fine because the defendant has no previous convictions. He also does not have to pay any damages.

The judge followed the prosecution's argument. "Right-wing extremist" means that a boundary is being crossed, she explained on Monday. When talking about a political attitude on the far right, statements such as "right-wing populist" or "far right" are appropriate. The term "extreme right-wing", on the other hand, stands for a radical attitude and suggests sympathy with National Socialism. This is damaging to the company's reputation.

Freedom of expression

The defense, however, pleaded for acquittal. The article was not about the band itself or a comparison between the bands, but merely about the wearers of their clothing, stated the defendant's lawyer. And about the fact that a minority of these wearers wanted to make a political statement. It was a fact that the band had a certain appeal in right-wing extremist circles. This could certainly be written in a newspaper article, said the defense. Statements about political messages fall within the scope of freedom of expression and are not punishable by law.

The lawyer went on to criticize the prosecution for not explaining how the caption in question was defamatory of the band members. The term "" is broadly defined and is used in very different ways. In Switzerland, "right-wing extremism" does not constitute a position that is prohibited under criminal law. His argument was not heard by the court.

"Anti-fascists"

The band, whose name has nothing to do with Freiwild, but combines the words "free" and "wild", was founded in 2001. In April 2016, the South Tyrolean group was awarded the Echo music prize in the Rock/Alternative National category. However, the band had been removed from the nomination list in 2013. Competitors had accused the group of having links to the right-wing scene and threatened to boycott the award. The band also denied extremist tendencies at the time.

In recent years, the band has repeatedly publicly distanced itself from right-wing and left-wing extremist ideas, but also from right-wing populist movements such as Pegida. Its members describe themselves as "conservative anti-fascists".

Further appeal being examined

"We think the judgment is wrong," said Tamedia spokesperson Christoph Zimmer at the request of the SDA news agency. The caption merely pointed out that there are people who express their right-wing views by wearing a T-shirt of the band. 20 Minuten did not comment on the band itself. "We are considering a further appeal." (SDA)