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A woman tried to blackmail the day Alain Berset appeared in front of 850 children. The matter soon came to a head.
Federal Councilor Alain Berset celebrated November 20, 2019 without worries: on Children’s Rights Day, he received school classes at Bundesplatz.
Photo: Marcel Bieri (Keystone)
November 20, 2019 seems to have been a carefree day for Alain Berset. The images show the Federal Council cheering in front of 650 schoolchildren on and in the middle of the Bundesplatz in Bern. On the International Day for the Rights of the Child, which was celebrated with many selfies, a blackmail attempt began against the Swiss Interior Minister, who now, a year later, Makes the headlines.
Federal Council not informed
The matter is likely new to members of the state government, at least they have not heard from their colleague officially. “Alain Berset did not inform the Federal Council about the blackmail attempt,” explains his spokesman, Peter Lauener, “because it is a private matter.”
The blackmailer recently accepted a sanction order from the federal prosecutor’s office, roughly outlining the history of the case. Just on Children’s Rights Day, the woman, whose identity is not revealed in the document, opened a bank account and the next day another bank account. Then he wanted to deposit 100,000 francs, which Berset should pay him.
“You could easily put the photo on Instagram.”
In an email, he threatened the Federal Council of SP with making the alleged facts public. He attached – as the Federal Prosecutor’s Office wrote – on the one hand “personal correspondence between the two and on the other hand photos of the wounded man.”
According to Berset’s attorney, Patrik Eisenhut, it is only “a single photo showing the face and only the face of Mr. Berset.” And he adds: “You could easily put it on Instagram.”
Climbing for weeks
In the following days, the situation intensified notably. The blackmailer wrote to the Minister of the Interior that there were also third parties interested in acquiring the originals. But Berset would be given priority. On November 25, she threatened to “put everything on the table” if Berset denounced her.
The Federal Council abstained from filing a complaint for two more weeks. Why?
“At first it was not clear who was behind the blackmail attempt,” explains attorney Eisenhut, and «how serious was the situation». It was his job «to clarify this and gather evidence. ‘ It had also “warned the perpetrators in writing and asked them to stop their actions immediately.”
Instead, the woman suddenly made an additional charge against Berset. The Federal Council lawyer arranged a meeting with the blackmailer for December 13 and filed a criminal complaint.
The woman was arrested on the day she expected to receive 100,000 francs. The police arrested her at 7:40 am and did not release her until eight hours later.
The defendant withdrew
When asked, it turned out that he had regressed the day before. She had sent Berset a letter dismissing the allegations and lawsuits and provided the originals of the files attached to her first email. The letter did not reach Berset until four days later.
The withdrawal has a positive effect on the criminal process. The defendant was saved with a fine of 900 francs and a conditional fine of 150 daily rates of 30 francs each, a probationary period of two years. The Federal Prosecutor’s Office removed “data suitable for committing recent similar crimes” before returning the cell phones and laptop confiscated from the woman.
The “Weltwoche”, which made the blackmail attempt public on Saturday, raises the question of whether the judiciary acted correctly. According to criminal law professor Marcel Niggli, such removal is “basically permissible”: “All items that were used for a crime can be confiscated and destroyed. Alternatively, they can be deleted. “The Federal Prosecutor emphasizes that the data has not been completely deleted, but is still available.
According to Niggli, it is also “permissible” and “reasonable” that passages in the criminal order have been crossed out that, according to the Federal Prosecutor’s Office, contain “accusations withdrawn as false.” But it remains in the dark, which is why the matter escalated as it escalated.
