Roger Köppel acquitted of the charge of depicting violence

On Tuesday, former "Das Magazin" editor-in-chief Roger Köppel and illustrator Lorenz Meier were acquitted by the Zurich District Court of the charge of depicting violence. On May 19, 2001, the weekend supplement "Das Magazin" of the "Tages-Anzeiger" had published an article by author James Hamilton-Paterson on exotic dishes such as "Dog vomit with coriander". Illustrator Lorenz Meier had illustrated these. The Swiss Society for Animal Welfare/Pro Tier then filed a lawsuit against Tamedia AG for incitement to cruelty to animals. The SGT/Pro Tier justified this step by saying that the many years of educational work on eating habits carried out by the animal welfare organization had been nullified. According to Köppel, it was simply a matter of presenting reality. He sees this as a basic journalistic task. He denied a vivid depiction of violence. The defense lawyer also invoked freedom of opinion and freedom of the press. The court held the freedom of the press in higher esteem, denied that there was a vivid depiction of violence and acquitted the two defendants.