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Special Counsel Peter Marti triggered an avalanche.
Pascal TischhauserDeputy Head of Policy
It was early morning on May 17, 2022 when the police rang the doorbell in a district of Bern. “Come with me!” instructed the police forces Peter Lauener (52). The then spokesman for Health Minister Alain Berset (50) was temporarily arrested and spent four days behind bars, as various media reported.
Blick was silent – compulsively. A legal muzzle existed against several employees of the Ringier publishing house, which, in addition to Blick, also publishes the SonntagsBlick, as well as against journalists (see box). A remarkable circumstance in a constitutional state.
This is how the Corona leaks came about
February 2020: It is revealed that Zuger Crypto AG has been producing manipulated encryption machines for decades. The US and German secret services were able to use it to spy on half the world. The Swiss intelligence service was also able to listen in. The Business Review Delegation (GPDel) launches an investigation.
October 2020: Days before the results of the investigation should have been published, “NZZ” and “Tages-Anzeiger” report on the secret investigation by GPDel. A little later, they filed a complaint with the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office (BA) – for breach of official secrecy.
September 2021: The supervisory authority for the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office (AB-BA) uses the retired chief judge and former Zurich SVP cantonal councilor Peter Marti (72) as a special investigator to clarify the case. During the investigation, Marti comes across the e-mail correspondence between Berset’s then head of communications Peter Lauener (52) and Ringier CEO Marc Walder (57). He is asking the AB-BA for permission to expand the Crypto investigation. The AB-BA gives the green light.
May 2022: Special investigator Marti detains Lauener for four days and questions him. Federal Councilor Alain Berset (50) and Walder are also questioned as respondents.
June 2022: Peter Lauener abruptly resigns from his position.
July 2022: It turns out that Peter Marti is conducting criminal proceedings against Lauener – as well as against two employees of Federal Councilor Ignazio Cassis: Secretary General Markus Seiler (54) and media chief Michael Steiner. Seiler headed the intelligence service until the end of November 2017.
September 2022: Lauener reports Marti, accusing him of abuse of office, among other things. Lauener also applied for his emails to be sealed. Reason: Marti had illegally expanded his investigations. Proceedings are currently under way at the Bern compulsory measures court to lift the seal.
December 2022: Special investigator Peter Marti has to deal with a special lawyer himself because of the complaint. Stephan Zimmerli has to investigate whether Marti went too far in his investigations.
January 14, 2023: The newspaper “Switzerland at the weekend” publishes the interrogation protocols of Marti. The accusation: Peter Lauener is said to have continuously provided Ringier CEO Marc Walder with information on corona measures.
January 16, 2023: The federal prosecutor’s office applies to the AB-BA to use a third special investigator because of the leak. He is supposed to find out who leaked the interrogation protocols and e-mails from Marti’s proceedings to “Switzerland at the weekend”.
January 24, 2023: Parliament’s Control Committees open an inquiry. A working group is to get to the bottom of the indiscretions – not only in the interior, but in all departments. Tobias Ochsenbein and Lea Hartmann
February 2020: It is revealed that Zuger Crypto AG has been producing manipulated encryption machines for decades. The US and German secret services were able to use it to spy on half the world. The Swiss intelligence service was also able to listen in. The Business Review Delegation (GPDel) launches an investigation.
October 2020: Days before the results of the investigation should have been published, “NZZ” and “Tages-Anzeiger” report on the secret investigation by GPDel. A little later, they filed a complaint with the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office (BA) – for breach of official secrecy.
September 2021: The supervisory authority for the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office (AB-BA) uses the retired chief judge and former Zurich SVP cantonal councilor Peter Marti (72) as a special investigator to clarify the case. During the investigation, Marti comes across the e-mail correspondence between Berset’s then head of communications Peter Lauener (52) and Ringier CEO Marc Walder (57). He is asking the AB-BA for permission to expand the Crypto investigation. The AB-BA gives the green light.
May 2022: Special investigator Marti detains Lauener for four days and questions him. Federal Councilor Alain Berset (50) and Walder are also questioned as respondents.
June 2022: Peter Lauener abruptly resigns from his position.
July 2022: It turns out that Peter Marti is conducting criminal proceedings against Lauener – as well as against two employees of Federal Councilor Ignazio Cassis: Secretary General Markus Seiler (54) and media chief Michael Steiner. Seiler headed the intelligence service until the end of November 2017.
September 2022: Lauener reports Marti, accusing him of abuse of office, among other things. Lauener also applied for his emails to be sealed. Reason: Marti had illegally expanded his investigations. Proceedings are currently under way at the Bern compulsory measures court to lift the seal.
December 2022: Special investigator Peter Marti has to deal with a special lawyer himself because of the complaint. Stephan Zimmerli has to investigate whether Marti went too far in his investigations.
January 14, 2023: The newspaper “Switzerland at the weekend” publishes the interrogation protocols of Marti. The accusation: Peter Lauener is said to have continuously provided Ringier CEO Marc Walder with information on corona measures.
January 16, 2023: The federal prosecutor’s office applies to the AB-BA to use a third special investigator because of the leak. He is supposed to find out who leaked the interrogation protocols and e-mails from Marti’s proceedings to “Switzerland at the weekend”.
January 24, 2023: Parliament’s Control Committees open an inquiry. A working group is to get to the bottom of the indiscretions – not only in the interior, but in all departments. Tobias Ochsenbein and Lea Hartmann
Terror?
Peter Lauener wanted to bring about attacks on the constitutional order, according to the allegation that the media brought to light. A violation of Article 275 of the Criminal Code. A drastic accusation!
Lauener is said to have provided Ringier with information about the publication, thanks to which the Federal Council had no choice but to implement the Corona measures. But much more is hidden behind the harmless-sounding accusation of constitutional order. It is actually about a government overthrow. The speech is colloquial from the article of terror.
No authorization
The implicit, steep accusation is so far-reaching that special investigator Peter Marti (72) would have needed the authorization of the Federal Council. But this does not exist.
But how did former SVP chief judge Marti come up with Lauener? Marti had to find out how leaks to the NZZ and the Tages-Anzeiger came about in the crypto affair.
Because in Marti’s eyes there was a closeness between SP Federal Councilor Berset and the Tamedia newspapers, Marti ended up with his spokesman, it is said.
One thing is clear: Marti requested Lauener’s mail traffic from October 7th to November 15th, 2020 from the Federal Office for Information Technology and Telecommunications (BIT).
muzzle for look
Special investigator Peter Marti (72) muzzled the Ringier publishing house and various people. Nobody who knew about the criminal proceedings in the group was allowed to comment on it.
This also applied to a small number of journalists from the Blick Group. Thanks to persistent research by various other Swiss journalists, the background to the affair has nevertheless become public over the past nine months.
Special investigator Peter Marti (72) muzzled the Ringier publishing house and various people. Nobody who knew about the criminal proceedings in the group was allowed to comment on it.
This also applied to a small number of journalists from the Blick Group. Thanks to persistent research by various other Swiss journalists, the background to the affair has nevertheless become public over the past nine months.
Violation of official secrecy in the BIT?
But what did he get from the BIT? The entire mail traffic that had accumulated in Lauener’s mailbox. Possibly also secret content. This suggests that those responsible in the BIT could have breached official secrecy.
Special investigator Marti drew the BIT’s attention to the fact that he received far more data from the Federal Office than requested in September 2021. He will deal with it carefully, he promised and informed that the responsibility for the process lay with the BIT.
Although he knew that he had received too many e-mails unlawfully, Marti confronted Peter Lauener, but also Federal Councilor Alain Berset, when he was questioned about the ex-speaker’s e-mails.
It was only then that Lauener found out that Marti had obtained his e-mails and evaluated them. So Lauener was probably denied the right to be heard. Only from then on was ex-head of communications Lauener able to have the mails sealed.
It is now known that there should have been an exchange between Lauener and Ringier boss Marc Walder (57). It is still unclear whether Lauener leaked official secrets.
Lots of work for Zimmerli
Berset and the Federal Council had Vice-Chancellor André Simonazzi (55) read a statement, according to which the SP magistrate assured the other Federal Councilors that they knew nothing about Lauener’s exchange with Walder.
According to Blick information, Lauener and Berset also maintained close contact with other publishers during Corona. Marti investigates whether there were any violations of the law in the exchange with Ringier.
The second special investigator, Stephan Zimmerli, who is investigating whether Marti went too far when he had Lauener arrested, should also have a lot of work to do. In any case, the courts saw no reason to do so and refused Marti to take Lauener into custody.
A third extraordinary public prosecutor is also deployed to investigate the leak of the interrogation protocols to “Switzerland at the weekend”. The parliamentary business control commissions have also started work.
Indiscretions are the order of the day in federal Bern. The courts will decide whether Lauener violated official secrecy – and whether others behaved incorrectly, too.