From DPA
Threatening revenge against Facebook friends who do not send online birthday wishes is not a criminal offence, Switzerland’s top court found in a ruling that was made public on Wednesday.
The Swiss Federal Court in Lausanne overruled a lower court that had found a man guilty of public menace because he had told his virtual friends on his birthday in 2012 that all those who had not congratulated him would come to regret it – and would no longer be safe.
The young man ended his online post with “POW!!!!POW!!!!POW!!!”
One of his 290 Facebook contacts had him reported to police, and a Zurich court handed down the verdict and a punishment of 450 Swiss francs. The Federal Court, however, found that because the threat was made virtually, it did not constitute a physical public location.