Overview
- The Federal Constitutional Court ruled the search of Fabian Kienert’s home unconstitutional as a violation of press and broadcast freedom.
- The court held that private rooms where editorial material is kept receive the same protection as newsroom premises.
- It found no sufficient initial suspicion to justify the January 2023 operation, during which a laptop, phones and multiple USB sticks were seized.
- Prosecutors had launched the case after Kienert’s article linked to an archive of the banned site linksunten.indymedia.org, alleging unlawful support for a criminal association.
- Kienert was acquitted in June 2024; the constitutional decision was issued on November 3 and disclosed on November 19, and it leaves open whether linking could be criminal in other circumstances.