German Authorities Investigate Journalists Over 'Treason' Plot

Following the revelation by former UK National Security Agency (NSA) in 2013 that the NSA and the UK's intelligence service, GCHQ, has used two projects — PRISM and Tempora — to capture masses of data via the Internet, Netzpolitik.org released a series of exposures over Germany's mass surveillance programs.

In February 2015, it reported on the German government's plans to collect and monitor huge volumes of Internet data, mimicking the mass data acquisition by the NSA. The report included the full text of a leaked secret surveillance budget from 2013. A second article exposed the "Erweiterten Fachunterstützung Internet" or "Extended Specialist Support Internet" department of Germany's intelligence agency.

Netzpolitik.org has announced that it has received a letter from the Federal Attorney General and the President of the German Domestic Security Agency, stating that two of its reporters and an unknown party were under investigation for "treason" and could face two years in jail.

"Serious Prejudice to the External Security of Germany"

The letter confirmed the agency was investigating reporters Markus Beckedahl, Andre Meister and an "unknown" party (presumed to be their source). The letter stated that they were being investigated for a possible breach of the German penal code which states that:

"Whosoever […] allows a state secret to come to the attention of an unauthorized person or to become known to the public in order to prejudice the Federal Republic of Germany or benefit a foreign power and thereby creates a danger of serious prejudice to the external security of the Federal Republic of Germany, shall be liable to imprisonment of not less than one year."

The digital rights campaign group responded by saying: "This is an attack on press freedom! The last charges of treason against journalists in Germany have been a very long time ago, notably the Spiegel Affair of 1962.

"From the very beginning, the charges against our alleged source(s) were politically motivated and targeted to crush the necessary public debate about internet surveillance Post-Snowden." It said that whistle blowers acted in the public interest and need protection and should not be accused of "treason".

"Investigating the acclaimed media outlet Netzpolitik.org as accomplices in treason charges is a direct attack on freedom of the press, which we thought was outlawed with the Constitutional Court ruling in the Cicero case 2007."

It called on the Federal Attorney General to drop the investigations against it and the alleged source(s) and instead investigate and charge out-of-control secret services, which are expanding their mass surveillance without public debate.

"We will not let ourselves be intimidated by the investigations and we will continue our critical and independent journalism — complete with original documents. Netzpolitik.org is financed by voluntary donations," it said.