20-Minuten editor acquitted of libel charges
The Zurich District Court has acquitted an editor of 20 Minuten online of charges of libel and defamation. Three former officers had taken the 48-year-old to court over an article about the Swiss army.
According to the verdict announced on Monday, the unsuccessful plaintiffs must bear the court costs of 3,500 francs. The court did not accept their claims for compensation. In addition, the former officers were ordered to pay the defendant 6,000 Swiss francs in compensation.
Three former intelligence officers and officers of the Swiss army had sued the journalist for an article written in the summer of 2008. At the time, the author wrote a series of articles about scandals and affairs in the Swiss army over the past 50 years. In one article, he also wrote about Colonel Albert Bachmann, who headed the Extraordinary Intelligence Service (AOND) between 1976 and 1979. According to the accused, the AOND had not only spied on alleged extremists at home, but also put them on a list. In the event of war, the 442 men and 57 women would have been immediately interned, the statement continued. Bachmann, who died last April, and two other senior officers found this statement defamatory. They sued the author and demanded satisfaction.
In court, the plaintiffs argued that AOND, as an intelligence service, had only been active abroad. Their mission had been to build up a network of sources behind the Iron Curtain. However, they had not spied on compatriots. The defense, on the other hand, demanded an acquittal. Two plaintiffs had not even been mentioned in the text and thus could not be identified. In addition, there was no intent to disparage Bachmann's reputation. (SDA)
