Criminal complaint filed in aftermath of security conference

Monika Ermert, Heise, Intellectual Property Watch, VDI-Nachrichten, Germany

PUBLISHED ON: 03 Feb 2014

Cybersecurity took the centre stage on the first day of the Munich Security Conference (January 31 to February 2), which has tackled international war and peace for 50 years. But while high level government and industry participants agreed on the cyber risk assessment, no joint strategy was proffered. Instead, the rift over mass surveillance activities by, among other, the US intelligence services complicated the discussion.

Early warnings by German government officials at the conference over the growing gap between younger citizens and the “old transatlantic ally” proved just very true, when the International League of Human Rights in Germany, together with the Chaos Computer Club and civic group digitalcourage on February 3 filed a criminal complaint against the German government for not acting on the mass surveillance by intelligence services.

Criminal complaint mentions Snowden

The complainants target “US, British and German secret agents, their supervisors, the German Minister of the Interior as well as the German Chancelor of illegal and prohibited covert intelligence activities, of aiding and abetting of those activities, of violation of the right to privacy and obstruction of justice in office by bearing and cooperating with the electronic surveillance of German citizens by NSA and GCHQ.“ Foreign agents violated laws against illegal spy activities (§99) and against intrusions of privacy (§201) of the German Criminal Code, the complaint suggests. Key of the statement is that German authorities, according to the altogether seven complainants, are responsible for “obstructing justice“ and possibly more.

The complaint extensively quotes information and statements from whistleblower Edward Snowden. According to digitalcourage, the complainants also want Snowden to be heard as a witness.

The German complaint follows similar ones by sister organisations of the International League for Human Rights in France and Belgium last year. The Paris prosecutor's office in December announced it had opened preliminary investigations into the US National Security Agency's PRISM surveillance programme. The French and Belgian complaints were filed against “persons unknown.”

Allies in times of big data

At the Munich Security conference, the German Foreign Minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier,  had pointed out to his US allies: “We have to review and clarify our partnership in the digital world. The lack of trust of many Germans in the partnership with the US has to concern us and might not be self-healing.“ Especially the younger generations do not see the US as the natural ally like most post-war Germans currently in office see it. In his speech at the conference, Secretary of State John Kerry had referred to the post-war US-German relationship in particular.

Steinmeier on the other side hinted at the need for an “adequate transatlantic forum“ to discuss how fundamental rights of citizens could be secured in the era of big data, with “rules for governments, but also for industry.“

Meanwhile, a discussion on big data and the future of intelligence during the Munich Security conference was kept closed to journalists and the public, “according to the wish of some panel speakers,” as a representative of the organising team said. Panelists included two retired secret service heads, August Hanning (former president of the German BND) and Michael Hayden (former director of the NSA and the CIA).

Steinmeier’s colleague at the Ministry of the Interior, Thomas de Maizière, in Munich heavily criticised the mass surveillance activities. While there was no final proof or fingerprints, “from what we know what has happened against the German citizens is excessive,” he said.

Now de Maizière has to defend himself against the complaint by the activist organisations.

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