Posting against Chancellor’s wife: comparison in court
court
The trial at the regional court, which the wife of the ÖVP Chancellor had brought against a man from Salzburg, ended with a settlement including a fine. He shared a post on Facebook, whereupon Katharina Nehammer “made money” from the discredited CoV mask company Hygiene Austria.
The amount of the fine is not known to the public by the judiciary. It was said on Tuesday that it was justified by the accused’s income. He apologized in court to the chancellor’s wife’s lawyer. You personally did not take part in the proceedings. In addition, the accused has undertaken to publish a correction on his Facebook profile, according to the court.
In the negotiated post from earlier, the Salzburger had shared a post that also said that Nehammer, as an employee of the mask company, would also “deceive the population”.
Nehammer’s lawyers emphasize that these claims are of course false. You work in a PR agency that worked for Hygiene Austria. To claim otherwise is slander. The offense can be punished with up to a year in prison or a fine – if, as in this case, it was open to the general public.
Accused referred to satire
The defendant from Salzburg admitted in the run-up to the proceedings that he had shared the allegations on Facebook. He also said that he did not write them himself, nor did he comment on them. In addition, the message was provided with smiling faces – smileys. Therefore it is a photomontage, a creatively altered content, a satire. And the question is whether forwarding is already an expression of opinion.
Hundreds of procedures pending
This procedure against the Salzburger is not an isolated case. Hundreds are and have been pending across Austria because so many netizens have shared these claims. Recently, for example, a Styrian had to pay 3,500 euros in an out-of-court settlement. Nehammer said she intends to spend any compensation or fines.