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The Interior Minister speaks publicly for the first time about the failed blackmail attempt against him. And it appeals to the responsibility of the media.
“The matter is closed”: Alain Berset comments on the failed blackmail attempt.
(Video: SDA-Keystone)
“It was a private matter. And the matter is closed. “On the sidelines of a press conference, Interior Minister Alain Berset made his first public statement Wednesday night on the blackmail case, which has been in the headlines in Switzerland since Saturday. .
Berset summarized the case as follows: One person tried to blackmail him with false facts. He defended himself against this by filing a complaint. The criminal process has already concluded and the person has been legally convicted.
For Berset, that’s the end of the matter. No further questions were raised about his ability to serve. «rehe shows the course of this casethat I am not open to blackmail»Says Berset.
Admonition to the media
AThe blackmail attempt had no effect on his work, Berset said. However, on Wednesday morning, due to public discussions in recent days, he also informed the entire Federal Council about the blackmail attempt. Justice Minister Karin Keller-Sutter and then-Federal President Ueli Maurer taught Berset in December 2019when he filed a complaint against the blackmailer.
Finally, Berset appealed to the media: “Privacy is important to everyone, including federal councilors, of course. It is not enough to talk about your protection. You have to live this protection. “
On Saturday night, “Weltwoche” made the blackmail attempt public with a news flash. In November 2019, a woman threatened the Interior Minister with publishing private correspondence and photographs if he did not transfer 100,000 francs to her. The woman, whose identity is still unknown, opened two bank accounts to receive the money.
The blackmailer who did not want to be
On December 12, 2019, a day before the agreed transfer, Interior Minister Berset filed a complaint against the woman. The Federal Prosecutor’s Office is responsible for extorting federal councilors. She filed a lawsuit and had the woman arrested the next day.
In the meantime, however, he had already withdrawn his claims against Berset. During police questioning, he also agreed that all data that was the subject of extortion would be erased.
The woman came out relatively lightly: in September 2020, she was sentenced to a fine of 900 francs and a conditional fine of 150 daily rates of 30 francs each.
Evidence in the “Weltwoche” that the police authorities acted with unreasonable severity against the woman has yet to be confirmed. Instead, criminal law experts confirmed that, for example, the deletion of data, but also the blackening of criminal orders to protect named persons are “permissible”.
