Press Council partially agrees with Guido A. Zäch

The Press Council has partially upheld the complaint of paraplegic doctor Guido A. Zäch against the SonntagsZeitung. The doctor and his lawyer had filed a complaint against several articles that appeared in the fall of 2005 in connection with the appeal proceedings against Zäch before the Basel-Stadt Court of Appeal. As reported by the SDA, the SonntagsZeitung had written that Zäch's lawyer had disregarded a ban prohibiting defense attorneys from contacting witnesses before or during trials.
 
In doing so, the newspaper violated the Declaration of Rights and Duties of Journalists, as the Press Council wrote in its statement published on Friday. Legal representatives are only prohibited from influencing witnesses. Contact is permitted. It was also criticized that the quotes used were not presented to an interviewee for proofreading as agreed. The Press Council also objected to the statement that the minutes of a resolution passed by the Paraplegic Foundation showed that the Board of Trustees had refused to approve Zäch's remuneration retrospectively. The resolution could be interpreted in this sense. However, the wording rather suggests approval.
 
However, the Press Council considers statements such as "Zäch wants the trial to collapse" or "misstep by the defense" to be evaluations within the scope of freedom of comment.