Press Council reprimands Basler Zeitung: Allegations instead of facts
The Press Council accuses the Basler Zeitung of violating its duty to report the truth and disregarding the presumption of innocence in articles about an alleged sexual affair at an asylum shelter.
In December 2016 and January 2017, the Basler Zeitung reported on an alleged sex affair at an asylum home in the municipality of Reinach. A caregiver had had a sexual affair with an underage asylum seeker. Eventually, the municipality had dismissed the employee. The two articles mainly raise the question of whether the municipality of Reinach has committed a criminal offense by not reporting a possible criminal act to the public prosecutor's office.
Following a complaint by the municipality, the Swiss Press Council has now reprimanded the Basler Zeitung. Both articles violate the duty of truth according to the journalists' code. This is because the Basler Zeitung assumed in the form of statements that there was a sexual affair, although this has not been proven. In addition, the newspaper stated that Reinach had violated its duty to report, although this issue is also disputed.
The Basler Zeitung also violated the presumption of innocence with the titles "Sex with minors in Reinach asylum home" and "Criminal investigation into sex in Reinach asylum home". These titles state a "sex affair" or criminally relevant behavior, although the presumption of innocence applies to all involved. It was not enough that the newspaper then mentioned the presumption of innocence in the text.
