Hamburg court rules against Tillack (Freedom of press dead in EU)

Hamburg's highest court, the Oberlandesgericht, yesterday (1 February) ruled against former Brussels editor Hans-Martin Tillack and his employer, the German Stern Magazine, fighting a case against the EU anti-fraud office, OLAF.

The court said that, due to a general immunity protecting EU officials, it could not order a former European Commission spokesman not to spread allegations that Mr Tillack bribed EU officials.

The judge underlined that this does not mean that the Commission spokesman was telling the truth.

In 2002, Mr Tillack published articles in Stern about alleged irregularities in OLAF based on internal documents from the organisation.

OLAF then released a press statement saying it was possible that someone had been bribed to get the documents, an allegation that Stern magazine denied.

The bribery allegations were sourced to spokesman Joachim Gross in the cabinet of former Commissioner Michaele Schreyer. No proof was provided of any bribery.

In September, the lower Court, the Landgericht Hamburg, banned Mr Gross from repeating the allegations of bribery.

But Mr Gross - supported by the Commission and represented by lawyer Boris Uphoff - appealed against this decision, prompting the high court's decision yesterday.

Mr Uphoff told the EUobserver that he considered the outcome of the case "obvious".

"Neither German courts nor any other national courts have jurisdiction over EU employees", he added.

A protocol to the EU treaties from 8 April 1965 grants EU civil servants a life-long immunity from legal proceedings "in respect of acts performed by them in their official capacity, including their words spoken or written".

This story really started when Hans Martin Tillack, a German journalist was arrested by Belgium police for allegedly bribing EU officials. In reality it was because Mr TIllack had been investigating EU sleaze for years, and recently had intersted himself in the fact that the anti-corruption agency in EU, OLAF, hadn't acted on leads regarding corruption in the EU bureacracy.

Not only was Hans Martin Tillack arrested on false grounds, his home and office ransacked, but all his working material, computers etc were confiscated by the police and then handed over to OLAF.

Tillack and his paper (Der Stern) have tried to regain these items via the courts but have been denied. The whole story has been followed by none other than Ambrose Evans-Pritchard (of Whitewater fame):

EU judges end human rights law for press

and links listed in that article.

In short EU is creating a new privileged class. Not only are the eurocrates immune from prosecution, they are also exempt from taxes (or at least have special low rates) and are given salaries way above their positions, had they worked in a non-EU position.

Just a final point: For those Europhiles who read FR - no the immunity against prosecution for the EU administrators is not the same as the immunity that covers diplomats!

Diplomats are representatives of their respective countries, without any power over the people in whose countries they reside.

EU administrators are - whether we like it or not, and I certainly do not - part of the executive branch of the European Union. To give them immunity against prosecution is certainly a nail in the coffin of our democracy - nothing less!

immunity for all EU employees is a bit absurd especially as it is applied ergo others cannot speak badly about them. That means they are above someones right to have free speech and publicly chastize them for wrongdoing. This is beyond redicuous its sort of you steal my cow and I cant complain about you stealing my cow not only are you protected in your wrongfull act but I m also diminished in my right to do anything about it even as simple as speaking out. Great EUROCRACY... thats a new term I guess where the Eurocrat is the only person who counts.

Update:

"The European commission has won a legal battle to gain access to an investigative journalist's notes and potentially reveal his sources, in a ruling that could have ramifications for press freedom across Europe.

Hans Martin Tillack, the former Brussels correspondent of German magazine Stern, Bertelsmann's weekly news and current affairs magazine, has this week failed in a legal bid to stop the commission looking at his notes, with a European court of justice ruling going against him.

http://media.guardian.co.uk/site/story/0,14173,1466649,00.html

I can't believe I agree with Guardian on this one.

The EU, rule by unelected Bureaucrats for unelected Bureaucrats, repression no problem.

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