SoBli editor is sentenced to 20 days conditionally

On Thursday, the Military Appeals Court 2 in Solothurn found a SonntagsBlick editor guilty of violating military secrets. The sentence was revised downwards to 20 days in a secret hearing, as reported by the SDA news agency. The journalist had published a report on an air force facility in Buochs NW in 2003. As a result, he was sentenced to ten days in prison unconditionally by the competent military court of first instance. In the second instance, the sentence was increased to six months, which was much longer than the 45 days requested by the prosecution. In spring 2006, the Military Court of Cassation overturned the sentence and referred the case back to the Military Court of Appeal. It also held that a sentence within the limits of the first instance was appropriate (see
Judgment against SoBli editor overturned).

Essential location As justification for the sentence, military judge Beat Frey added that the newspaper article had stated an essential military point of view. The prosecution had maintained the sentence of 45 days. The defense argued for a reduction of the sentence to seven days. The editor reserves the right to lodge a further appeal in cassation.

In a statement, the media union Comedia described the ruling as scandalous. It also speaks of a questionable restriction of press freedom. The tendency to attempt to discipline media professionals should be stopped.