German Gov’t Stresses Press Freedom Amid Treason Probe

Prosecutors say they have launched the probe against two journalists of Netzpolitik.org, and an unidentified source, following a criminal complaint by Germany’s domestic intelligence agency over two articles that appeared on the website, reports Reuters.

Maas, whose ministry oversees the federal prosecutor’s office, also said he doubts that the journalists intended to damage Germany or benefit a foreign power, which could constitute treason.

Markus Beckedahl, who faces treason charges with his colleague Andre Meister, said Tuesday that he expects the proceedings – which have been put on hold pending the outcome of the external review – to be relaunched shortly.

Much of the German media called the decision an attack on the freedom of the press.

Germany’s top public prosecutor accused the government on Tuesday of interfering in a widely criticised treason investigation into a news website, in a rare clash between the state and judiciary.

Germany’s first treason investigation against a media organisation in half a century caused shock, particularly over its target.

Global media unions demanded yesterday that treason charges against two German journalists be dropped immediately.

Joachim Wieland, a constitutional law expert, told dpa on Tuesday that Range’s allegations of government overreach were unfounded, arguing that prosecutors do not come under the same umbrella as judges in terms of independence from the government. The chair of the parliamentary judicial committee, Renate Kuenast of the Greens party, said the case “infuriates me and is a constitutional disgrace”, adding that “if there were no investigative journalism, we would know nothing”.

Netzpolitik.org appealed for public support after receiving a letter notifying them of the investigation into the two reporters last week.

We are horrified that our friends at Netzpolitik are being targeted in this way. Christian Flisek, the representative for the Social Democrats (SPD) in the German parliament’s NSA inquiry, called the Netzpolitik probe “just embarrassing”.

The president of the German Association of Lawyers, Ulrich Schellenberg, was reported by FAZ as saying there was a “fundamental public interest” in understanding the work of secret services, and therefore it was necessary to stop the “state proceeding against a critical journalism”.