German Crackdown On Terrorism Is Pretext To Persecute Political Enemies, Says Opposition Leader
Exclusive interview with a leader of the reviled and rising Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which has been targeted with violence
Germany is the largest European economy, a reliable ally of the United States, and a liberal democracy that has protected freedom of speech since World War II.
But now, the German government is asking for its police to be able to secretly enter and search homes as part of its expanded mandate to monitor what people say online and over the telephone. This is a significant break from the Western legal tradition of requiring police to have a suspected crime and a search warrant.
“Normally,” explained Der Spiegel last week, “when conducting a house search, the police must name the accused and the crime and state what they hope to find. They must then submit a corresponding application to the public prosecutor, who submits it to the responsible investigating judge. The person concerned must be notified. Exceptions are only possible in cases of imminent danger.”
Germany’s Federal Ministry of the Interior initially refused to talk to reporters about the measure, saying that the proposal was "still at a very early stage of internal government coordination." When the police finally did comment, a spokesperson told Der Spiegel the law would be used to protect Germans from “the dangers of international terrorism” in general and Islamic terrorism in particular.
But the German Journalists' Association said the proposal would undermine journalists' ability to protect their sources. "All journalists who research in security-relevant areas are affected," warned the Association’s chairman. The secret break-ins are reminiscent of the methods of police states, not of liberal democracies."