Switzerland draws lines and does not collaborate in the persecution of journalists

Introduction

Over the past three years, I have been very critical of Switzerland and the tel quel adoption of all EU sanctions against Russia, as my home country has thus given up its neutrality and become a party to a conflict with which it should have nothing to do as a neutral country. See, for example, my article “Switzerland is in danger”.

Switzerland's sanctions regime stops where dissidents are concerned. We rejoice, reflect and classify.

The EU persecutes those who dissent

The fact that the EU has degenerated into a dictatorship and restricts freedom of expression to an unacceptable extent has long been known to every critical person. We already dealt with this comprehensively in October 2023 in our article “Freedom of expression in the EU is history”, where we looked in particular at the “Regulation on a Single Market for Digital Services and amending Directive 2000/31/EC (Digital Services Act)” and wrote at the time that Orwellian times await us.

At that time, however, I would have ruled out the possibility that the EU would take action against its own journalists, because as a lawyer, deep down you believe in the rule of law. However, I have to admit that, despite my profession as a geopolitical observer who is used to bad things, I regularly fall prey to my own naivety. I didn't have to wait long.

On May 20, 2025, the Council of the European Union (COUNCIL DECISION (CFSP) 2025/966) imposed sanctions against two German journalists - Alina Lipp and Thomas Röper - for the first time. This decision was signed by Kaja Kallas as “President” of the Council of the European Union. I have written extensively about the unacceptable violation of the law in this decision in my article “EU sanctions German journalists”. In addition to Röper and Lipp as Germans, a further 19 journalists from various countries were sanctioned on outrageous grounds.

Switzerland decides differently - but very quietly

Up to now, Switzerland has routinely adopted the EU sanctions packages against Russia within a few days, using the copy-paste method, which suggests that it has adopted these huge volumes of regulations without examining them and thus bent to the dictates of Brussels.

When I wrote the above-mentioned article on May 25, five days after the EU decision was issued, I was already wondering - with faint hope - whether people in Bern would think twice about this outrageous step and wrote:

"Switzerland has so far remained silent. I do not expect Switzerland to go along with this illegal sham. As a Swiss lawyer, I simply have too much confidence in my homeland."

Peter Hänseler – 25. Mai 2025

The EU's 17th sanctions package was adopted without reservations, but not the decision in question, which was strangely signed by Kaja Kallas as “President” of the Council of the European Union, although it is not she but Antonio Costas who is President.

However, if you were expecting a public announcement from Bern on this renunciation, you are wrong. In a Weltwoche article by Rafael Lutz, who also writes for us, he reports that the SECO spokeswoman, Ms. Tschanz, told him the following:

“In principle, the Federal Council decides on the imposition of sanctions on a case-by-case basis and after a comprehensive weighing of interests.”

Spokeswoman Tschanz, SECO, to Weltwoche

How and why this decision was made is not known. Federal Councillor Parmelin's office merely emphasized the high value placed on freedom of the press in Switzerland. After all, media such as Russia Today can still be accessed in Switzerland, unlike in EU countries.

Lutz goes on to write:

“”People can recognize for themselves what is bullshit and what is not. They are mature enough to form their own opinion,“ says a WBF employee who wishes to remain anonymous.”

Weltwoche - June 18, 2025

A small step in the right direction

Quietly but firmly, the Swiss government decided not to follow the EU into the deepest abysses of 1930s Germany, because let's not be naive. It was the German government that asked Brussels to sanction Röper and Lipp.

“One swallow does not make a summer.”

The Swiss government can be forgiven for deciding this quietly - it's the result that counts. This time I was not naive when I believed in the rule of law in my home country on May 25. Nevertheless, one swallow does not make a summer.