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Statement of three of the accused in one of the § 129a proceedings against the militant group (mg)
On the morning of July 31, 2007, our apartments were searched by officers of the Federal Criminal Police (BKA) at the directive of the Federal Prosecutor (Bundesanwaltschaft). The charge put forth is membership in a terrorist association, the so-called militant group, on the basis of to § 129a StGB.
Only through this incident did we learn that the authorities have been investigating us for almost a year. These preliminary proceedings have allowed the Federal Office of Criminal Investigation (BKA) and other federal agencies to surveil and invade our private sphere all the way into its most intimate realms. Our partners, friends, families and colleagues have all been affected by these surveillance measures. Our longtime friend and colleague Andrej H. has been arrested. The father of three children has since been detained in preterial confinement in Berlin-Moabit.
The Federal Prosecutor (BAW) justifies these massive attacks on our civil liberties in the arrest warrant with an array of outrageous constructs.
We gather the following allegations against us from the few documents available to us as yet:
- Two of us are said to have authored scholarly publications allegedly containing »key words and phrases that have also been used in writings of the ›militant group(s)‹«. The BAW also attests that we possess the »intellectual capabilities« required for composing the mg statements claiming responsibility for their attacks. Furthermore, the BAW claims that we have access to libraries which we can use for research. Andrej is also said to have been involved in organizing protests against the G8 summit, concentrating on topics that the mg, too, has used as rationale for their attacks.
- One of us is also accused of having authored a journalistic article about a public conference where speakers discussed a 1972 militant attack. The mg allegedly also wrote about this attack some months earlier. This provides evidence, according to the BAW, that the author is a member of the mg.
- In two cases, the BAW accuses us of having contacts with individuals who are suspects in another – so far inconclusive – criminal investigation against the mg. Both contacts are primarily job-related. Furthermore, all of us are charged with »having multiple contacts to the extreme left-wing scene in Berlin«. It is not mentioned that we also maintain countless contacts to political parties, community organizations, trade unions and social movements.
What we conclude from these charges:
Any scholar or journalist who writes on specific topics and uses libraries arouses suspicion. Anyone who has contacts to people deemed suspicious by the BAW may become a suspect herself. Anyone who seeks to protect his/her right to privacy and anonymity may also become a suspect. In case all three moments of suspicion converge, it must be – in this logic – a terrorist association.
Notwithstanding the absurdity of all this, the consequences for our everyday life have been devastating: For a year now, our phone conversations have been listened to, our emails surveilled, our internet use monitored, our flats have been kept under surveillance, and all our moves have been followed by means of mobile phone data. Possibly undercover informants have been spying on us. Partners, friends, colleagues and family members have also become targets of the investigations. Right now, we cannot surmise the extent of this spying operation.
While we are still at large, our friend and colleague Andrej H. is detained on the basis of the same allegations. He is held under very strict conditions in solitary confinement, he can see his family only for an hour every two weeks, and communication with visitors is allowed only through separation panes.
In Germany, this form of investigation of particular political attitudes has a long and dark history. As former citizens of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) we are particularly sensitized to this.
We demand the immediate suspension of the § 129a proceedings, the return and deletion of all the data gathered on us, and the release of all the indicted from jail, including the three accused of attempted arson. In accordance with the rule of law they should not even be in pre-trial confinement, as there is no danger of their fleeing. Their arrest became possible only via the dubious construct of »forming a terrorist alliance«.
The whole proceedings are an utter scandal. They make very clear that the investigation paragraph 129a needs to be abolished.
For the accused in this proceeding:
RA Wolfgang Kaleck
Immanuelkirchstr. 3-4
10405 Berlin – Prenzlauer Berg
fon: +49-(0)30-44679218
Three of the accused, 12.08.2007