Reporters Without Borders solidary with journalists from netzpolitik.org

August 9, 2015

Reporters Without Borders is shocked that the German Public Prosecutor General is currently considering treason charges ("Landesverrat") against two German journalists who run the blog netzpolitik.org. It is the first time in more than 50 years that this has happened in Germany. As an organization which fights for freedom of information around the world, Reporters Without Borders is disappointed that the Prosecutors’ office doesn’t hesitate to damage Germany’s reputation of being a safe place for journalists.

The charges against German journalists Markus Beckedahl and André Meister have been filed by Georg Maaßen, who heads the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, one of Germanys secret services. The charges are based on the publication of secret documents from within the agency which netzpolitik.org published earlier this year. The documents leaked to netzpolitik.org included plans to dramatically broaden Internet surveillance capabilities. Investigations for treason have also been launched against the alleged whistleblowers.

"It is a scandal that the Public Prosecutor General tries to silence critical journalists which have great merits in reporting on wrongdoing of secret services." says Michael Rediske, President of the Board of Reporters Without Borders Germany. "This kind of intimidation is unacceptable for Reporters Without Borders." It would aim to deter possible whistleblowers to relay important documents of public interest to media outlets.

Netzpolitik.org is one of the biggest blogs regularly reporting on surveillance and secret services in Germany. To demonstrate solidarity with netzpolitik.org, Reporters Without Borders (Germany) also published the concerned documents on their Website. Reporters Without Borders asks all colleagues and the broader public to also show solidarity.

For more information contact:
Reporters Without Borders
Phone: +33 1 44 83 84 84
Website: www.rsf.org