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Dear OCCRP Reader:
Imagine: You are a reporter in Switzerland and a large international team of journalists is investigating a major leak from one of the biggest banks in your country, but you can’t participate.
Why Not? Because press freedom does not exist in Switzerland when it comes to banking. Anyone who discloses information about bank customers to other people — even if it’s in the public interest — can be punished with up to three years in prison under the Swiss Banking Act.
But now: After highlighting this injustice earlier this year in our Suisse Secrets investigation along with 47 partners, the Swiss government recently proposed a motion to the parliament to amend the Banking Act and end an era of prohibiting the press from reporting on crimes in the country's finance sector.
At OCCRP, we are laser-focused on doing whatever we can so investigative journalism thrives in every corner of the globe, including in places where the press is muzzled, like Switzerland.
Our focus now is on protecting journalists against strategic lawsuits against public participation or SLAPPs. Our network is currently fighting 41 such lawsuits brought against us by subjects of our investigations who want to intimidate and silence us.
So we started the “OCCRP SLAPPS Back Fund” to raise $100,000 for an in-house legal defense fund. And we now have a generous donor who will match any amount we raise up to $100,000 by the year’s end.
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