Federal Court: Geneva art patron's defamation suit not yet off the table
The Geneva Public Prosecutor's Office should have opened an investigation into the defamation lawsuit filed by Geneva-based patron Jean Claude Gandur against a journalist from the newspaper Le Courrier. This was the ruling of the Federal Supreme Court.
Instead, the public prosecutor's office decided not to proceed. In doing so, however, it violated federal law because further clarifications were necessary, for which an investigation must be opened. The action for defamation relates to the expansion and renovation project for the Museum of Art and History in Geneva, which was rejected at the ballot box in February last year. Le Courrier had previously published an article about Jean Claude Gandur, who wanted to support the project with up to 40 million francs.
The journalist who was sued had published a portrait of the career of the billionaire, who had made his money in the oil trade. Questions were also raised about corruption in connection with these transactions. The sources used by the journalist included reports from recognized non-governmental organizations and the UN, as the Federal Court's ruling shows.
The Lausanne judges have now referred the case back to the Geneva Cantonal Court, which will have to make a new decision. (SDA)
