Kiel (dpa / lno) – The FDP domestic politician Jan Marcus Rossa wants to regulate the handling of information from informants and undercover informants for the law enforcement authorities more strictly. “The Kiel investigative committee has once again confirmed that the principle of fair criminal proceedings is in extremely serious danger if, in particular, exonerating findings from covert sources are not included in the investigation files,” said Rossa of the German press agency. This was also shown by the case of the terrorist helper Mounir el Motassadeq.
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The state parliament has already reformed state police law. Attorney Rossa has drawn up an amendment to the Code of Criminal Procedure, which he intends to introduce with the Jamaica coalition through the Federal Council. “Because the current legal situation is unsatisfactory. A judicial control is necessary as to how confidential information is to be dealt with if its disclosure endangers the life and limb of an informant.”
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“A fair criminal trial is difficult to implement if covertly gained knowledge is withheld, as in the Motassadeq case,” said Rossa. It is even worse when, as in the case of the stabbing in Neumünster, neither the defense nor the court initially gain knowledge of exculpatory information.
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“The affair was triggered by a dispute among police officers as to whether the confidential information had to be written down in order to be able to introduce them into criminal proceedings,” said Rossa. The decision not to introduce these findings into an investigation was made by a senior public prosecutor. Its decision endangered fundamental principles of the rule of law. There was a real risk that an accused could have been wrongly convicted.
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“Exonerating references from confidential sources must not only become known by chance,” said Rossa. “The decision on how and with what arguments a defendant defends himself is up to him and not the public prosecutor.” Revealing such knowledge should not endanger the life or limb of the source, said Rossa. The conviction of an innocent person for their protection is unacceptable.
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With the current legal situation, investigative authorities could again withhold information in similar situations. There is a conflict of interest between source protection and the right to a fair trial, Rossa said. “That’s why we need rules that resolve this conflict without putting either side at a disadvantage.”
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© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210404-99-79723 / 2
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