As our editoral staff received news of the abrupt cancelation of Germar Rudolf's lease (due to political reasons), we called the landlady of his appartment to ask her for an interview. She inquired as to the reason for such an interview, to which I responded that we run a magazine for culture, politics and history and we consider this case to be an important cultural matter. She pretended not to understand. I tried to explain that Germar Rudolf (married Scheerer), who had lost an honorable position as a graduate student studying for a doctorate at the famous Max Planck Institute for Chemistry also for the same political reasons, was a known figure in the Federal Republic of Germany. As a cultural magazine we were confronted with what we see as a question of political style, that is, if political controvery should be allowed to endanger a man's private home. (The landlady's attorney wrote to Germar Rudolf where he stated the grounds of eviction as being that "it was broadcasted on T.V. and radio, printed in the newspaper, that you Herr Scheerer were convicted by jury for inciting the people".) She responded, to my great surprise, by asking me if I was threatening her. "By no means at all", was my clearly stated answer. I tried to calm her nerves by giving her my private telefone number and address.
This conversation took place in June 1995. In August I received a subpoena to appear before State Protection Police, where I was told that I was being charged with "coercion". Two questions arise: Firstly, what does a simple telefone call and the mere request for an interview have to do with "coercion"? Secondly, what does "coercion" have to due with the Department of State Protection anyway?
If you wish to know these answers please follow our process concerning this matter. First trial date:
Concerning process against Verlag der Freunde publishing house and its journal for culture, history and politics <Sleipnir> by Amtsgericht Berlin-Tiergarten:
The Berlin press law concerning the extent of possible confiscations stipulates in § 13: "(1) The order of confiscation applies only to those pieces of printing material which are in the posession of the author, the publisher, the redaktionell staff, the dealer or similar involved persons, also including all pieces shown in the public for selling or forseen to be sold; the confiscation may be further restricted. The confiscation may be extended to printing forms, plates and matrixes, or any means dispersing the incriminating intellectual contents, to be used for further printing."
Neither the state attorney nor the state police can lay claim of not knowing the above mentioned law, especially as they referred to limitation periods.
What is the reality of today? Where the law speaks of an extension, the police take that written border as a starting block. Wherein the law permits the seizure of the printing forms and other material used for a specific matter, police took nearly all of our general equipment that being: three computers, copymachine, our complete correpondences and the complete literary work, poems, plays, screenplays etc. A complaint from 16. 11. 1995 remains to date unanswered and the material has not been returned.
How does this bode for the law's guarantee of protection of informants?
The fact that I refered to the valid legal situation and also read the written regulation out loud to the state attorney leading the confiscation only brought forth a smile. Is the law not worth the paper that its written on?
Also the question remains how the judge will justify his search warrant "Finding material evidence for the suspicion of inciting the people", as the incriminated passages of our journal <Sleipnir> have been sold in public and so have been available to be bought by anyone on any given day. Does the state attorney have to break into the home of a publisher, to bring guns into a childs bedroom in order to simply read a journal?
We call upon all patrons of freedom of press, of free speach, of tolerance, to follow this process. We call upon all collegues in Germany and of all countrys worldwide, be it England, Sweden, the U.S.A., the Philippines, Israel, or Korea, to help us to throw back these totalitarian aspirations.
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Verlag der Freunde, Andreas Roehler, 10211 Berlin, Postfach 350264, "Redaktion Sleipnir" <[email protected]>.