Blick.ch did not violate the dignity of two dead children by photo
Privacy and human dignity can also be preserved in the photo of a grieving father with his two dead children. This is as long as the picture can be considered a document of contemporary history, it is respectful and does not degrade people to objects. The Swiss Press Council has therefore rejected a complaint against Blick.ch.
The online newspaper had featured a photo about the aftermath of a poison gas attack in Syria. It shows a grieving father holding his dead twins in his arms. The complainant had claimed that the photo - in which they are all recognizable and pictured close up - violated the privacy of those pictured and the dignity of the children's dead. The Press Council concluded that this photo was meaningful and showed the human tragedy of the war in Syria and the terrible consequences of a poison gas attack with sensitivity. The public interest in publication must be given precedence here over the privacy of the person depicted. All the more so because the father obviously agreed to be photographed. (pd/hae)
