An innkeeper from Nidwalden who threatened federal councilor Alain Berset (50) 14 months ago has been released for the time being. In a video that went viral, the man warned the health minister not to come to Central Switzerland because of his Corona policy: “If I were you, I wouldn’t leave the house.”
The federal prosecutor’s office sentenced the landlord to periodic penalty payments for threats and defamation. If he fails the two-year probationary period, he must pay a fine of CHF 2,000.
Threats have little to fear
The example shows that the judiciary is more careful with threats that cover local politicians with hate messages than in the case of German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (41), whose hater – a 39-year-old student from Zurich – has been fined by the public prosecutor’s office 1,800 francs.
Because Berset’s example is not an isolated case: Justice Minister Karin Keller-Sutter (58) reported a Facebook user who wrote about her in 2017: “The bitch belongs on an Indian bus, well, at night on 3 …” which the man was convicted of inciting violence and verbal abuse three years ago. Here too, the fine was conditional: CHF 120.
threats have increased
In 2021, the Federal Police Service (Fedpol) counted 1,215 threats against members of the Federal Council, the Federal Parliament and the Federal Administration. The agency took 120 cases so seriously that it sent a letter warning of the threats, dispatching police officers or pursuing criminal charges.
The unreported number of insults and threats will be higher. Many politicians shy away from the trouble of reporting every hater. Others have long reconciled to that.