Germany ‘treason’ investigation shaken up by prosecutor’s sacking
Chief prosecutor fired from case against website accused of revealing state secrets.
Germany’s Justice Minister fired the country’s top prosecutor, Harald Range, on Tuesday over the handling of a treason investigation against two journalists from a news website. Netzpolitik.org (Net politics) was being investigated after publishing classified information that revealed the German government’s alleged plans to expand internet surveillance.
Justice Minister Heiko Maas referred to Range’s firing as a “retirement“. Range had previously criticised the Justice Ministry for meddling in an internal review and ordering him to withdraw the independent expert who had determined that the site had published state secrets.
The treason case has drawn criticism from journalists and media freedom activists. Around 1,300 people protested in Berlin over the weekend.
#Landesverrat (treason) has been trending online all week in Germany and has been used more than 7,000 times. The case has also increased interest in the extent of Germany’s cooperation in mass surveillance activities with the US National Security Agency (NSA).