Berlin court dismisses lawsuit seeking Merkel Stasi files

The Berlin administrative court has dismissed a lawsuit seeking the disclosure of possible Stasi files on former German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The case was brought by former FDP politician Marcel Luthe, but according to the court there is no general legal claim for such a move, Welt reports.

The Stasi Archives Act allows documents to be released only under specific circumstances. For example, the law permits disclosure if the person concerned benefited from the former secret service, the MfS, or was already a public figure at the time.

However, the court said that neither of these conditions is met in Merkel’s case. According to the available information, there is no concrete evidence that she was connected to the MfS, and before 1990 she cannot be considered a public figure within the meaning of the law.

Marcel Luthe’s lawsuit was therefore unsuccessful.

(pir)