It was a major operation: Five Freiburg leftists were searched by the police on August 2, 2023on behalf of the Karlsruhe public prosecutor’s office. The accusation: The four men and one woman should the left-wing online platform “Indymedia linksunten”, which was banned by the Federal Ministry of the Interior in 2017 continued to operate. And the officers collected a lot: laptops, smartphones, hard drives, USB sticks, SD cards – a total of almost 200 data storage devices.
The Karlsruhe Regional Court has now decided that the searches and seizures were unlawful. And the court handed it out properly against the public prosecutor. The evidence cited for the search warrants at the time was “extremely doubtful,” and the initial suspicion against the Freiburg residents was “bordering on mere speculation,” according to the resolution, which is available to the taz.
The “Indymedia linksunten” platform split off from the Indymedia main platform in 2007 and went online in 2009. Anyone and everyone was able to post political debate contributions, event announcements, but also letters claiming responsibility for militant actions. Because of the latter The Federal Ministry of the Interior ultimately banned the platform. “Indymedia linksunten” has been taken offline.
Not the first trial against the accused
The five Freiburg residents were already accused of operating the platform back then – and they were searched even then. The suspicion could not be substantiated and the proceedings were discontinued. In January 2020, however, an archive version of “Indymedia linksunten” reappeared on the Internet. They wanted to “make ten years of movement history accessible again,” it was said anonymously. “No state and no police can stop us.”
The Karlsruhe public prosecutor’s office then resumed investigations against the quintet – and had the people searched in the summer of 2023. The accusation: They continued to operate “Indymedia linksunten” illegally and thereby violated a ban on associations.
The accused had taken legal action against the raids. The Karlsruhe Regional Court had already declared these searches to be unlawful at the end of December – and the justification is now available. And this is clear. There are “considerable doubts” that there was any concrete initial suspicion against the five. The evidence cited was “vague,” and other aspects that exonerated the accused were “completely ignored.”
The search warrant does not indicate when the “Indymedia linksunten” archive was online. Which raises the question “whether the investigating judge even took a closer look at the different websites and dates”. Statements about the archive itself are also “little or not valid”.
Sustained legal battle as an indication of guilt
A “reversal of the burden of proof” also took place. One of the accusations made by the public prosecutor was that it had never been proven that “Indymedia linksunten” had dissolved – instead of proving its continued existence. The “sustainable” legal fight of the five Freiburg residents against the ban was also seen as an indication that they wanted to continue operating the original platform and were therefore part of the banned association. The regional court also sees a “questionable argument” here that could deter people from “permissible legal action”.
The court also ruled that the searches were disproportionate because the public prosecutor could have first directed inquiries to the constitutional protection authorities about the archive. Or have to clarify whether data transfer for the archive was also possible for outsiders who previously had nothing to do with “Indymedia linksunten”.
The searches were not successful either: the data carriers confiscated at the time were almost all encrypted. In the end, the State Criminal Police Office stated that no connection between the accused and the archive could be confirmed. The proceedings were discontinued in May 2025. The costs of the procedure are borne by the state treasury. As a result, to date no one has been convicted for the operation of “Indymedia linksunten” or the later archive.
Another defeat for the public prosecutor
It is also not the first setback for the Karlsruhe public prosecutor’s office in its “Indymedia linksunten” investigation. An editor at the radio station Radio Dreyeckland had previously linked to the “linksunten” archive in an online article. The public prosecutor also saw this as support for a banned organization and had him searched. The editor was acquitted in 2024.
The five Freiburg residents who have now been successful in court have not commented on the decision for the time being. The Autonomous Antifa Freiburg, however, criticized in a statement how the quintet was “criminalized by legal means”. The group emphasized: “Today an open posting site with an active and actively moderated comment column like ‘Indy linksunten’ would be more important than ever in the fight against the AfD and fake news.”