Journalist from “Matin Dimanche” before Wallis Justice
Published: Saturday, Jul 29th 2023, 11:00
Updated At: Friday, Oct 13th 2023, 14:12
Back to Live Feed
In the canton of Valais, a journalist from the newspaper "Matin Dimanche" is facing a court hearing. He is accused of publishing a report from a parliamentary commission two days before its official release. The report concerned the role of the government in illegal constructions in Verbier VS. The journalist is facing a fine of 800 Swiss francs, according to the newspaper "Le Temps". The prosecutor's office justifies the sanction with the "publication of secret official proceedings". The journalist, who originally uncovered the illegal construction affair in 2015 in the daily newspaper "Le Nouvelliste", declined to comment before the court hearing. However, he is looking forward to defending press freedom before an independent court. The hearing is scheduled for August 24th. The article in question was published on September 20th in the Sunday newspaper "Matin Dimanche". Two days later, the commission published its findings on the website of the Grand Council. As a result, the cantonal parliament filed a criminal complaint against an unknown person for violation of official secrecy. According to the prosecutor's office, journalistic source protection does not prevent a journalist from being convicted for publishing secret official proceedings. The journalist must have been aware that he was publishing confidential information at the time in question. Furthermore, press freedom does not justify any behaviour that constitutes a criminal offence.
©Keystone/SDA
English 
German 
French 
Spanish 
Arabic