Link on linksunten.indymedia: Acquittal for responsible editor
A year and a half ago, a raid on a radio station in Freiburg caused a nationwide stir. Now the next setback for the authorities has followed.
(Image: Zolnierek/Shutterstock.com)
The criminal trial against the author of an online article for linking to the archive of the banned association "linksunten.indymedia" has ended with an acquittal. This was reported by SWR after the verdict was announced by the State Protection Chamber of the Karlsruhe Regional Court. The court ruled that the association allegedly advertised via the link no longer existed at the time of the crime. Furthermore, the linked archive could not be directly equated with the banned website, which is why the link should be treated differently. The acquittal could therefore have been based on formal grounds, but a fundamental balancing of criminal law and freedom of the press would have been possible. The full reasons for the verdict are still pending.
Stubborn public prosecutor's office
The legal dispute was triggered by an online article by Radio Dreyeckland (RDL) from Freiburg, which contained a link to the archive in question. Following the initiation of a preliminary investigation on suspicion of a violation of a ban on association (Section 85 of the German Criminal Code), raids were carried out on 17 January 2023 in the private homes of RDL employees and on the premises of the broadcaster. The Karlsruhe public prosecutor's office then brought charges against the author of the article, but was initially unsuccessful before the regional court. The public prosecutor's office then appealed to the Stuttgart Higher Regional Court. In June, the court allowed the charges against the editor to be brought, and a decision has now been made.
The acquittal - against which the public prosecutor's office can appeal - does not, however, mark the end of the legal investigation into the matter. Although the searches at Radio Dreyeckland have already been declared unlawful, a final decision on the raid on the author is still pending. The Gesellschaft für Freiheitsrechte (GFF) filed a constitutional complaint in December. The aim is to finally clarify "that posting a link as part of a press report cannot constitute a punishable act of support and that the search of editorial offices and employees' homes as well as the confiscation of editorial data violates the freedom of the press".
The internet platform "linksunten.indymedia" was considered by security authorities to be the most influential medium of the far-left scene in Germany - and a forum for violent autonomists. However, the website was not banned, instead those responsible for it were declared an association and banned from operating. Several people subsequently filed a lawsuit against this trick, but they denied the existence of the association. This is why they failed before the Federal Administrative Court in 2020 on formal grounds, as "only the association" is regularly authorized to challenge such a ban. Radio Dreyeckland is the oldest free radio station in Germany; it emerged from the anti-nuclear movement in the 1980s.
(mho)