Sonntag journalist acquitted at federal criminal court
A journalist for the newspaper Sonntag had incriminated Federal Prosecutor Erwin Beyeler on the basis of a confidential Fedpol document. The Federal Criminal Court has now acquitted him of the charge of publishing official secret negotiations.
In the article of July 11, 2010, the deputy editor-in-chief of Sonntag, Sandro Brotz, had reported on the involvement of former federal prosecutor Erwin Beyeler in the case of the ominous informant Ramos, who played a role in the Holenweger affair. According to SDA, he based his report on a document from the Federal Office of Police Fedpol that had been leaked to him and classified as confidential. The document in question was supposed to show that Beyeler, as former head of the Federal Criminal Police, had been involved in the engagement of ex-drug baron Ramos.
Subsequently, the Fedpol filed charges against the journalist for publishing official secret negotiations. Last February, the extraordinary public prosecutor appointed by the Federal Council, Pierre Cornu, ordered him to pay a fine of 500 francs and a fee of 220 francs. Now the Federal Criminal Court has acquitted Brotz, after his appeal, on Thursday of the charge of publishing official secret negotiations. Brotz will receive compensation of 9,890 francs. The decision can still be appealed to the Federal Supreme Court.
According to SDA, the editorial staff of Sonntag took note with satisfaction of the acquittal of Sandro Brotz before the Federal Criminal Court. In a communiqué, it said that it was welcomed that this acquittal would put further pressure on Article 293 of the Swiss Penal Code, which is hostile to the press. At the moment, political initiatives are pending to no longer criminalize journalists for publishing confidential documents.
