Video · 3:22 · documentation # Suspected knock-out drops: the headlines of the Blick campaign 2014 to 2015 After the Zug Landammann celebration of 2014, Blick published at least 167 items; over the years, thousands of further articles followed in other Swiss media. The video shows some of these headlines from Blick, Blick am Abend and Tages-Anzeiger, 2014 to 2015, following the suspicion of knock-out drops (chemical submission). At the end, the apology of Ringier CEO Marc Walder of 25 August 2020. Your browser cannot play this video. [Open the video file directly (MP4)](/media/dieschlagzeilen_web.mp4) On the proceedings: [case dossier Ringier AG / Blick](/en/cases/ringier-blick). ## Knock-out drops, chemical submission and the Blick campaign On the morning after the Zug Landammann celebration of 20 December 2014, Jolanda Spiess went to the Zug Cantonal Hospital with abdominal pain, a memory blackout of several hours and the suspicion that she had been drugged without her knowledge. Knock-out drops could neither be detected nor excluded: the blood sample was taken only about twenty hours after the event, when substances such as GHB would long since have been metabolised. Chemical submission, the administering of psychoactive substances without the knowledge of the person concerned, is not a separate criminal offence but a way of committing offences. A negative finding is not counter-evidence. The case was never resolved; all criminal investigations against Jolanda Spiess were discontinued. The video shows what the media made of this suspicion: the headlines of the Blick campaign, for which the Cantonal Court of Zug in 2019 and the High Court of Zug in 2020 found serious infringements of personality rights, up to the apology of Ringier CEO Marc Walder in 2020. [Glossary: Chemical submission (knock-out drops)](/en/glossary#chemical-submission) [Case dossier Ringier AG / Blick](/en/cases/ringier-blick) [Frequently asked questions](/en/#fakten) ## The items shown in the video Headline, publication and by-line, as read out in the video. Headlines remain in the German original. - 0:00«Sex-Skandal um SVP-Politiker» – «Hat er sie geschändet?»Blick · by Gabriela Battaglia and Daniel Riedl - 0:12«Sex-Skandal in Zug» – «Alles begann auf der MS-Rigi»Blick · by Jessica von Düren and Michael Spielmann - 0:25«Das Protokoll der Peinlichkeiten»Blick · by Viktor Dammann and Daniel Riedl - 0:36«Jolanda Heggli zeigt ihr Weggli», Schnitzelbank an der FasnachtBlick am Abend · by editorial team - 0:46«Wenn ein Vorwurf K.o. geht»Tages-Anzeiger · by Michèle Binswanger - 0:58«Zeigen Sie uns die Captain’s Lounge»Blick am Abend · by Gabriela Battaglia - 1:13«Showdown in Zug» – «Rummel ums Rammeln»Blick am Abend · by Katja Baltisberger, Daniel Riedl and Gabriela Battaglia - 1:32«Die sechs Männer um Jolanda Spiess-Hegglin»Blick · by Romina Lenzlinger - 1:51«Und immer noch suchen sie Ausreden»Blick · by Romina Lenzlinger and Michael Sahli - 2:04«Das Klageweib»Tages-Anzeiger · by Jean-Martin Büttner - 2:17«Ein ausgekochtes Luder»Blick am Abend · by editorial team - 2:30«Angriff auf Spiess-Vater»Blick am Abend · by Katja Baltisberger - 2:55Entschuldigung von Ringier-CEO Marc Walder, 25. August 2020Blick ## Questions about the video What does the video show? After the Zug Landammann celebration of 2014, Blick published at least 167 items; over the years, thousands of further articles followed in other Swiss media. The video shows scanned print pages of Blick, Blick am Abend and Tages-Anzeiger from 2014 and 2015. Hansi Voigt and Jolanda Spiess read out twelve headlines with their subheadings, the publication and the by-line. It ends with the front page of 25 August 2020 on which Ringier CEO Marc Walder apologises; that text is read out as well. Duration 3 minutes 22 seconds, in German. What does chemical submission mean? Chemical submission means administering psychoactive substances to a person without their knowledge or consent in order to render them defenceless, compliant or unable to remember. The specialist literature also uses the terms «soumission chimique» and «drug-facilitated crime». Chemical submission is not a separate offence under the Swiss Criminal Code; it is a method of committing an offence, and the offences committed by that method are punishable. What are knock-out drops and why can they often not be detected? Knock-out drops is the colloquial term for substances used in chemical submission, frequently GHB or related compounds. Detection succeeds only within a narrow time window: if the blood or urine sample is taken too late, the substance has been metabolised. It can then neither be proven nor excluded. A missing finding is therefore no counter-evidence. Were knock-out drops detected in the case of Jolanda Spiess? No, and neither were they excluded. The blood sample was taken only about twenty hours after the event, when substances such as GHB would long since have been metabolised. At the hospital, the DNA of two men was found in her intimate area. All criminal investigations against Jolanda Spiess were discontinued. She has never accused anyone and assumes that both parties became victims. The case was never clarified. How many articles did Blick publish about the case? 167 items. Four of them are covered by the ruling on the disgorgement of profits; a campaign action concerning the remaining 163 is in preparation. For this coverage the Cantonal Court of Zug found severe infringements of personality rights in 2019, and the High Court of Zug confirmed this in 2020. Did Ringier apologise for the Blick coverage? Yes. On 25 August 2020 an apology by Ringier CEO Marc Walder appeared on the Blick front page under the title «Entschuldigung, Jolanda Spiess-Hegglin». That front page is shown at the end of the video and is held as a PDF in the case dossier. The civil proceedings continued afterwards.