Glarner dubbed a “gaga right-wing extremist”: Acquittal for Voigt
Published: Wednesday, Feb 7th 2024, 16:11
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Media entrepreneur Hansi Voigt has been acquitted of the charges of verbal abuse and defamation. On Wednesday, the district court of Bremgarten AG upheld the appeal against a penalty order brought by SVP National Councillor Andreas Glarner.
At the end of 2022, Voigt wrote in a comment on the Twitter platform at the time that people should stop being outraged by "what a gaga right-wing extremist like Glarner" says. The SVP National Councillor then filed a criminal complaint against Voigt.
In June, the public prosecutor's office in Muri-Bremgarten sentenced Voigt to a conditional fine of 40 daily rates of CHF 200 and a fine of CHF 1,000.
Glarner's reputation had been "discredited", according to the summary penalty order. His reputation had also been damaged. Voigt lodged an appeal against the penalty order.
Exaggerations permissible in politics
A single judge at the Bremgarten district court acquitted the media entrepreneur of the charges on Wednesday. The term "Gaga right-wing extremist" does not refer to Glarner as a person, but to his work as a politician.
According to the case law of the Federal Supreme Court, in political disputes, defamation can only be assumed with great caution and should be denied in cases of doubt.
In political discourse, exaggerations and harsh formulations are socially accepted. They are also not taken seriously in their possible theatricality, according to the written summary of the oral reasons for the judgment.
The district court's acquittal is not yet legally binding. National Councillor Glarner announced on regional broadcaster TeleM1 that he would appeal the verdict to the cantonal supreme court.
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