Facts
On May 28, 2013, [A.] was convicted by the District Court of Meilen of multiple counts of defamation and sentenced to a suspended fine and penalty. On May 24, 2018, the District Court of Winterthur acquitted [A.] of the charge of false accusation. On November 16, 2018, [A.] filed a petition for revision against the judgment of the District Court of Meilen. The High Court of the Canton of Zurich dismissed the petition for revision on July 2, 2019.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court set aside the decision of the High Court and remanded the case for a new assessment to the lower court. The District Court of Meilen had convicted [A.] of multiple counts of defamation, as it considered the element of "acting with knowledge of the falsity" to be fulfilled. In contrast, the District Court of Winterthur concluded that acting with knowledge of the falsity was not proven and acquitted [A.] of the charge of false accusation. The Federal Supreme Court saw in this different assessment of the external circumstances and indicia by the two courts an…