Justice setback: Raids in the Indymedia linksunten case were unlawful

The legal processing of the case of the Internet portal Indymedia linksunten, banned in 2017, is taking another turn that is not favorable for the investigating authorities. The Karlsruhe Regional Court declared the searches and seizures carried out in the summer of 2023 against five individuals from Freiburg to be unlawful. It had already become clear in previous proceedings that the Karlsruhe public prosecutor's office was acting on shaky ground.

The investigators attempted to accuse the defendants of violating the ban on associations. The reason for this was a static archive of the original site that appeared online in 2020. However, according to Tagesschau and Netzpolitik.org, the Karlsruhe judges determined in a ruling dated December 30th: There was already a lack of sufficient initial suspicion for the continued existence of a banned association.

The Indymedia linksunten case is considered politically highly sensitive. The Federal Ministry of the Interior has classified the platform as a "left-wing extremist association" that incites violence against police officers.

The problem from the outset was the structure of the site, which is designed as an open platform. Content can be published there by almost any user without a fixed editorial hierarchy. There was and is no registered association or clearly definable membership structure.

This ambiguity has now once again become the downfall of the law enforcement agencies. Since it could never be proven in previous proceedings who was specifically behind the site or whether such an association even existed in the legal sense, the basis for later accusations of "support" or "continuation" of this structure was missing.

Radio Dreyeckland was also in the crosshairs

The case gained additional explosiveness through its connection with the Freiburg broadcaster Radio Dreyeckland. An editor had linked to the Indymedia archive in an article about the discontinuation of previous proceedings. This triggered several searches, which even affected the broadcaster's editorial rooms. In November, the Federal Constitutional Court already sharply criticized this procedure, thereby strengthening press freedom. The Karlsruhe Regional Court has now followed suit and determined that the mere existence of a static archive is not proof of a continuing organizational structure.

Investigators seized almost 200 data carriers during the searches. However, they were unable to gain any insights from them, as the majority of the data was encrypted. The corresponding proceedings were discontinued in May 2025.

Legal experts view the decision as a clear correction for the public prosecutor's office. The Society for Civil Rights states that the authorities have been unequivocally made to understand that action against phantom associations makes no sense. Since no further appeals are possible against the decision, it is legally binding. The costs of the proceedings will be borne by the state treasury. At least, hopefully, the enlightenment remains: Blanket bans on associations in the digital space reach their limits where the judiciary cannot prove individual responsibility beyond a doubt.

(vbr)