Unable to decrypt memory: Investigations against linksunten.indymedia ended

A five-year investigation into the allegation that a criminal organization had formed as a result of the ban on the left-wing internet platform linksunten.indymedia.org has been dropped. Antifa Freiburg announced this online, and a lawyer for those affected confirmed this to the taz, among others. The hiring took place on July 12th. The public prosecutor’s office could not find any evidence for the accusation that the data carriers confiscated during raids in 2017 could not be decrypted to this day.

Banned with a trick

The Internet platform was founded in 2009. Security authorities considered it the most influential medium in the left-wing extremist scene in Germany – and a forum for violent autonomists. It was banned in August 2017. The site runs “contrary to the criminal laws in terms of purpose and activity” and is directed against the constitutional order. The license plates of the association were also banned at the time. A connection was also made to the violent riots during the G20 summit in Hamburg and the political debate about it.

In connection with the ban, premises in Freiburg were searched and the ban order was handed to several operators. The security authorities had used a trick in the ban procedure against the platform: it was formally a ban on a club – the operators were classified by the authorities as a club. On the other hand, several people had filed a lawsuit, but denied the existence of the association. That’s why they failed in 2020 before the Federal Administrative Court for formal reasons, because “regularly only the association” is authorized to challenge such a ban.

Despite the suspension of the preliminary investigation, which has now become known, the ban on the platform remains in place. According to the daily newspaper, a constitutional complaint is still pending against the Federal Administrative Court’s decision.

(mho)