Dispute over reputation-damaging Facebook posts: Defendant successfully defends himself before the St. Gallen district court
A man has been charged with allegedly spreading defamatory posts. However, he was acquitted due to lack of evidence.
The court case concerned public posts on Facebook.
Image: Michael Dwyer/AP
The 38-year-old defendant was charged by the public prosecutor with slander and threats (both multiple times). She accused him of publishing at least four posts in a public Facebook group under an anonymous profile name in which he accused a former employee of fraud. He is also said to have provided private information such as his address and incited other users against the private plaintiff. Among other things, it was about massive threats. The public prosecutor’s office demanded a conditional fine of 70 daily rates of 30 francs and a fine of 700 francs.
Allegations rejected
At the hearing at the St.Gallen district court, the accused vehemently rejected the allegations. He emphasized that he had absolutely nothing to do with the posts under the anonymous name. He knows the private plaintiff because he once worked for him. After three months, however, termination became necessary due to an incident. Because the former employee filed a lawsuit against it, proceedings and ultimately a settlement were reached. That was the end of the matter for him. He cannot explain why the private plaintiff came up with the idea that the posts came from him.
The private plaintiff’s legal representative saw proof of the defendant’s guilt in a picture that was also posted and was once included in the application documents. Only the accused had access to this photo. The lawyer saw the reason for the reputation-damaging posts as dissatisfaction with the outcome of the settlement. The accused was in a rage after the settlement.
After the unjustified dismissal, his client was unable to find a job for a long time. The posts again took a toll on him. He was publicly discredited and frightened by the hunt. There were people who were interested in the request to give his client a rubdown in exchange for money. The accused should be sentenced as charged.
Picture is not proof
The defense attorney, however, demanded an acquittal of guilt and punishment. There is nothing to suggest that his client is the author of the posts. The accusation is only absurd because the accused’s company was sold long ago. The image used in the posts could also come from anywhere. It is striking that the other side speaks of tens of thousands of members who belong to the Facebook group in question. In fact, it is a small group of almost 200 members. All these exaggerations gave rise to the suspicion that the whole affair was orchestrated by the other side.
The single judge at the St.Gallen district court acquitted the accused of the allegations. The central question in this case is who created the account, he emphasized about the verdict. Since there is no evidence that he can be assigned to the accused, the only option is an acquittal. The picture of the application documents cannot be used as evidence because it could have been used by several people. The parties’ mutual accusations do not provide any clarity as to who is responsible for the account. The state bears the procedural costs of around 10,700 francs.
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