Mocked online

Styrian man must pay compensation to Simone Lugner

Simone Lugner won’t put up with anything from the hate posters.(Bild: Mario Urbantschitsch)

Despite having eleven prior convictions himself, a man from Styria presumed to pass judgment on Baumeister’s widow, Simone Lugner, and viciously insulted her on Facebook. The unemployed man has no justification for his behavior. He has now been convicted in Graz.

“I only handle Facebook insults these days. I’m the Facebook Insult Judge,” says Judge Christoph Lichtenberg, alluding to the rapidly rising number of criminal cases involving various online insults. Because people still don’t seem to grasp that the internet is not a lawless zone. 

The current case being heard in Graz involves Simone, the widow of builder Richard Lugner. She has sued a man from Styria. The unemployed man, who is currently on sick leave due to a herniated disc, shared two articles about Simone Lugner on his Facebook page and posted a mocking comment: “Blonde, dumb, and stupid,” adding that she had never accomplished anything anyway and could only fleece men.

You’re unemployed, have eleven prior convictions, and criticize other people? That certainly makes a strange impression.

Richter Christoph Lichtenberg

Simone Lugner isn’t taking any of this hateful behavior lying down.(Bild: Mario Urbantschitsch)

“Write it down on a napkin”
“You’re unemployed, have eleven prior convictions, and criticize other people? That certainly makes a strange impression,” says Judge Lichtenberg. “Who is that supposed to interest anyway? You can write that on a napkin and throw it away!” – “Yes, that would have been better,” sighs the defendant. “Would you be happy to hear a comment like that about yourself?” – “I know anyway that it was nonsense.”

I would have spared you all this, but you ignored my letter.

Anwalt Florian Höllwarth zum Angeklagten

Bild: Stockner Eva

“Please convey to Ms. Simone Lugner that I’m sorry. I’ll also post the apology publicly,” says the 45-year-old, addressing Lugner’s attorney Florian Höllwarth. “I would have spared you all this, but you ignored my letter,” says the lawyer.

“The cheapest option is a verdict”
Due to a lack of financial resources—the defendant has significant debts, several enforcement proceedings are pending, and his salary is being garnished—a settlement is impossible. “I therefore find it difficult to imagine a settlement without funds,” the judge summarizes.  “The cheapest option is a judgment,” Höllwarth emphasized. In addition, the man from Styria must acknowledge the civil claim and cover the lawyer’s legal fees.

Verdict: a 560-euro fine and 1,500 euros in compensation for Simone Lugner. In addition, approximately 2,500 euros in court costs, and he must post the verdict in his own handwriting on his Facebook page. “We don’t need to discuss whether your statements constitute insults,” Lichtenberg explains. After a brief moment’s thought, the man from Styria accepts the verdict.