Four months after the raids on “Radio Dreyeckland”, the public prosecutor’s office in Karlsruhe brought charges against the author of an online article in which the archive of the banned association “linksunten.indymedia” was linked. The affected radio station from Freiburg reports this in a press release and at the same time criticizes it sharply. According to managing director Kurt-Michael Menzel, the public prosecutor’s office wants to use criminal law to enforce “their anti-left agenda” and calls for the state security department responsible to be dissolved. However, the proceedings against the person responsible for the website and thus also for the article within the meaning of press law have been discontinued.
Searches unsuccessful
In mid-January, the business and private rooms were searched by employees of Radio Dreyeckland (RDL). The much-criticized measure was justified with a link in an online article. The led to an article archive of the banned Internet platform “linksunten.indymedia” and was rated as illegal further distribution, the broadcaster had summarized. At the same time, even a short search provides a large number of such links in other media. The indictment that has now been submitted shows “that the searches have not yielded any new insights into the facts,” writes Radio Dreyeckland. It is directed against an unpopular medium “that does not reproduce unchecked police reports”.
Supported by civil rights activists from the Society for Freedom Rights (GFF), the radio station lodged a complaint against the search warrants in March. The GFF wants to win a precedent that states that journalists are not liable to prosecution if they link to archive pages in a report on club bans. If the district court confirms the search warrants, the GFF intends to lodge a constitutional complaint. In their opinion, the setting of a link alone cannot be counted as a criminal act of support.
The internet platform “linksunten.indymedia” was seen by the security authorities as the most influential medium of the left-wing extremist scene in Germany – and as a forum for violent autonomists. The security authorities had used a trick in the ban procedure: it was formally a club ban – the operators were classified by the authorities as a club. On the other hand, several people filed a lawsuit, but they denied the existence of the association. That’s why they failed in 2020 before the Federal Administrative Court for formal reasons, because “regularly only the association” is authorized to challenge such a ban. Radio Dreyeckland is the oldest free radio station in Germany; it emerged in the 1980s from the anti-nuclear movement.
(my)
