Zug,23.11.2018

Online newspaper did not infringe cantonal government member's personal rights in publishing article

The Swiss Press Council has ruled that the online Republik newspaper did not infringe Beat Villiger’s personal rights in publishing the article it did about the prosecution authorities in Lucerne deciding not to pursue a case against the Zug cantonal director of justice over discrepancies relating to sales documents of a car and other matters. The Press Council further ruled that the Republic newspaper was free to publish this article at a time it considered appropriate, i.e. just days before elections to the cantonal government took place.  

The newspaper’s headlines that day in early October were “Zug director of justice prevents reporting” in reference to Villiger taking out an injunction against the paper to silence it in this matter, which he insisted was a private and of no public interest.

In its detailed response, the Press Council maintained that, basically, there were no subject matters which were forbidden and that it was the duty of the press to report on cases where prosecutions had not been pursued, if these came to light. Naturally the press had the duty to respect people’s personal rights unless the public interest was of greater importance, as it was deemed to be in this case when the person in question was a member of a cantonal government and head of its Department of Justice.

It was the article in the Republik which sparked off interest in the story by other sections of the of the press, further research revealing that the woman to whom Villiger had lent his BMW was also his former lover with whom he had had a child. Of course, this is a private matter, but what annoyed one reader of the Zuger Zeitung was that, in posters relating to him during the campaign, he had promoted himself as “a family man”, mentioning only his legitimate children, with the impression this conveys.

As it happened, Villiger went on to be re-elected, damage to his campaign being limited in that it was thought many of his supporters had already voted by post before the article in the Republik went online. After his re-election Villiger took a few days to consider his situation but decided to carry on for a fourth term after receiving many letters of support.

In a separate but related issue, an investigation is currently under way as to who divulged the information that the Lucerne prosecution authorities had decided not to press charges in this case.