The reason for the police operation, which still kept the Carinthian judiciary busy three years later, was loud music. The man who had turned up the music was stopped by a police officer. He filmed the check and posted two videos of it on the social media platform Facebook. In these videos, he claimed that the police officer had attacked him. As a result, the Gurktal resident was convicted of giving false evidence and defamation.
Good reputation is in danger
There could also be significant consequences for those who reacted to the videos on Facebook. On behalf of the police officer, lawyer Robert Kerschbaumer has taken action against the Facebook users: “The majority of those reported shared a post on Facebook that was damaging to their reputation. This is damaging to their reputation because the police officer is specifically accused of abuse of office. There are also users who liked this post; they have also been reported and are being questioned by the criminal investigation department on behalf of the public prosecutor’s office.”
Fines and convictions
Over 100 reports were filed between July and August. The users had to be tracked down first, but the statute of limitations is three years. The public prosecutor announced further lawsuits: “There are still further investigations pending with the public prosecutor’s office. This concerns 400 unknown Facebook users who could not be tracked down. You will still hear from the public prosecutor’s office after more than three years. Some Facebook users reached an out-of-court settlement, around 50 ended up in court and were fined for defamation. These were people who had made comments against the police officer.
Advice to defend yourself legally
Some of those affected were represented by lawyer Philipp Tschernitz. He does not see why many users should have to pay thousands of euros. He advises those affected who receive a complaint to take legal action. The police officer’s lawyer, on the other hand, assured him that he was not concerned about money, but rather about his client’s reputation.
