Acquittals After Sex with Twelve-Year-Old: OLG President Appeals to Media
"Parts of the media coverage and public reactions to the verdict significantly deviate from the actual course of proceedings and the legal basis," it was stated in a release.
These "misinformation" even led to threats against the presiding judge, OLG President Katharina Lehmayer pointed out. In a constitutional state, the judiciary is strictly and exclusively bound by the law, and their judgments are made "after careful consideration solely based on the evidence presented in the main hearing": "Public pressure or media expectations must be disregarded, as well as other irrelevant considerations or personal values."
Public Excluded from Most of the Main Hearing in Vienna
In this specific case, the public was excluded from most of the main hearing for reasons of victim protection. The court, as well as media professionals who reported on the hearing and at least roughly understood the content of non-public witness statements and expert reports, were prohibited from disseminating information from non-public parts of the proceedings. "Precisely for this reason, incorrect impressions can arise in public discussion," Lehmayer clarified in this context. Due to the lack of knowledge of all the facts from the non-public evidence proceedings, there were "speculations, individual conjectures, and personal assessments" in media reporting and especially on social media, "which led to insults and threats against the presiding judge and his family," summarized the OLG President: "Such defamations or even personal attacks against the presiding judge are unacceptable."
OLG President's Appeal to the Media
The judiciary attaches the greatest importance to the right to free expression and critical journalism, Lehmayer affirmed: "However, false reporting endangers trust in the judiciary and thus the rule of law." She therefore appealed to the media to "counter such reactions and not give space to questionable information."
(APA/Red)
This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.