German government finds raid on Cicero lawful
The German government has defended the controversial raid on the magazine *Cicero* before the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe. Wolfram Weimer, editor-in-chief of the political magazine published by Ringier, had filed a complaint with the highest court in September regarding the search.
The German government has defended the controversial raid on the magazine Cicero before the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe. Secretary of State for Justice Lutz Diwell justified the authorities' actions, as media representatives would be liable to prosecution for aiding and abetting the violation of official secrets in such cases. He rejected impunity for journalists for publishing secret documents.Wolfram Weimer, the editor-in-chief of the political magazine from Ringier, had filed a lawsuit with the supreme court in September because all of the data on the editorial computer was copied during the raid in 2005 (see
). At Wednesday's hearing, Weimer's lawyer criticized the search of the editorial office by the Potsdam judiciary in September 2005 as a violation of press freedom. The state was only allowed to enforce the confidentiality of confidential documents on its employees. Journalists should not be punished for receiving and publishing such information, he said. Otherwise, the state would have the power to remove information from public discourse. Publishers' and journalists' associations also warned on Wednesday that encroachments by the judiciary would undermine the protection of whistleblowers and make it more difficult for the press to access information of public interest, as reported by SDA.
The search and seizure operation was triggered by an article published in March 2005 by the journalist Bruno Schirra. He had quoted from a confidential document of the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) about the top Jordanian terrorist Abu Mussab al-Sarkawi (see
). The accusations ultimately had almost no criminal consequences for the journalists: In February, the public prosecutor's office dropped the investigation against Weimer in exchange for a payment of 1,000 euros (see ). The verdict in the current trial is not expected until 2007.
). At Wednesday's hearing, Weimer's lawyer criticized the search of the editorial office by the Potsdam judiciary in September 2005 as a violation of press freedom. The state was only allowed to enforce the confidentiality of confidential documents on its employees. Journalists should not be punished for receiving and publishing such information, he said. Otherwise, the state would have the power to remove information from public discourse. Publishers' and journalists' associations also warned on Wednesday that encroachments by the judiciary would undermine the protection of whistleblowers and make it more difficult for the press to access information of public interest, as reported by SDA.
The search and seizure operation was triggered by an article published in March 2005 by the journalist Bruno Schirra. He had quoted from a confidential document of the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) about the top Jordanian terrorist Abu Mussab al-Sarkawi (see
). The accusations ultimately had almost no criminal consequences for the journalists: In February, the public prosecutor's office dropped the investigation against Weimer in exchange for a payment of 1,000 euros (see ). The verdict in the current trial is not expected until 2007.
