The blog’s editor-in-chief, Markus Beckedahl, reportedly faced charges of treason after he uploaded government papers onto the Internet earlier this year, showing how a federal agency had sought additional financing for the monitoring of social media.
Range said the criminal probe had been halted while investigators waited on an expert analysis of the leaked security documents to determine whether they contained any state secrets, according to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) newspaper.
"Until the submission of the report, the investigation will be suspended," Range told FAZ, adding that it was done for the "great good of the freedom of press and expression."
The criminal probe galvanized the German public who are still reeling from reports that the US National Security Agency eavesdropped on both regular German citizens and government officials.
Speaking about the case, German Justice Minister Heiko Maas said he doubted that the leaked documents had exposed any sensitive information that could harm the nation and welcomed the pause in the criminal investigation.
