WOZ rightly rejected counterstatement by Erwin Kessler
The weekly newspaper WOZ was not required to publish a counterstatement, as requested by Thurgau-based animal rights activist Erwin Kessler in connection with an article from April 2018. This was the ruling of the Federal Supreme Court, which thereby upheld a decision by the Thurgau High Court.
The WOZ reported in that issue on a ruling by the Winterthur district court. Kessler had charged a vegan from Winterthur with defamation. This is the result of a ruling by the Federal Supreme Court published on Friday.
The district court came to the conclusion that the woman had not committed a criminal offense by describing the controversial animal rights activist on Facebook in 2015 as a person with a clearly anti-Semitic and xenophobic attitude. She had linked the post to an online publication in which Kessler was described as an anti-Semite.
Kessler demanded that the WOZ publication of a counterstatement, which the newspaper refused. Kessler therefore filed a lawsuit with the district court of Münchwilen TG, but was unsuccessful. He was also unsuccessful before the Supreme Court and now before the Federal Supreme Court.
In its decision, the Federal Supreme Court states that the WOZ was entitled to reject the counterstatement. The allegation made in the counterstatement was false. Furthermore, a mere denial cannot normally be admitted as a counterstatement. (SDA)
