The German prosecutors who dropped all action against the US and UK spy-agencies who trampled German law and put the whole nation, up to and including Chancellor Angela Merkel, under surveillance, have decided instead to open an investigation into the bloggers at Netzpolitik, who revealed the wrongdoing.
Netzpolitik are an important source of independent news, analysis and campaigning for privacy and freedom in Germany. This is a genuinely shameful moment for the nation. We stand with Netzpolitik and its supporters around the world.
The investigation’s cause are the articles „mass data processing of the Internet’s content“ and „a new unit for expanding internet surveillance“ executed by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution whereof we had reported with the aid of the original documents.
We have reported on this matter because we deem it necessary to start a social debate. Two years after after Snowden’s revelations, the Federal Government has no better ideas than spending more and more money and responsibilities on largely uncontrolled secret services instead of ensuring a better control of secret services and reducing the system of total surveillance.
Naturally, we uploaded the original documents relating to our article because there was still enough disk space and because it is part of our philosophy to enable our readers to inform themselves using the original source. Thus, they can scrutinise us and our reporting.
Apparently, this suffices for a twice charge for treason because it seems to be confidential when the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution expands the Internet’s surveillance and keeps social networks under surveillance using the dragnet principle. This affects everybody, e.g. we could be under surveillance because we have sign up for the same Facebook event as a potential terrorist. But a public debate thereon is undesired.
The charge was published the day after the Deutsche Bundestag (German parliament, translator’s note) has passed a reform of the Federal office for the Protection of the Constitution containing expanded surveillance authority for it.
Criminal Charges From Domestic Secret Service: Federal Prosecutor Investigates our Publications, Leaks and Sources [Markus Beckedahl/Netzpolitik]