Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) - Request for information about dictatorship Argentina (initiated in 2015)

In the year 2014, I asked the Federal Intelligence agency BND to release its files on "Dictatorship in Argentina" (1976 - 83). During that time and until today, the BND run an office in the German Embassy in Buenos Aires. BND allowed me to see some 200 pages about these years in Argentina - general reports about terrorism - and denied the access of the rest. In August 2015, my lawyer Raphael Thomas filed a lawsuit before the Federal Administrative Court against BND, based on the Federal Archives Act (Bundesarchivgesetz).

The Argentinean government has repeatedly expressed its support for the disclosure of all documents that can provide information on the fate of the "disappeared". In this lawsuit, the German Chancellery cannot rely on the argument that disclosure could hinder diplomatic relations and cooperation between the intelligence services (the Mossad) - as in my legal proceedings a couple of years ago (against the BND for their files about former SS Officer Adolf Eichmann) - an argument that has nothing to do with democracy.

Meanwhile, the German Chancellery has issued a declaration, which aims to keep large parts of the BND files regarding Argentina secret. The only cited argument is the alleged concern for the "welfare of the State". What was once secret should always remain secret - otherwise, according to Merkel´s Office, the secret services could no longer cooperate with each other. The German government does not wish to discuss the question if a democratic state should fraternize with a fascist regime and if it necessary to support the efforts of the Argentine governments to bring torturers to justice. The lawsuit is currently pending at the Bundesverwaltungsamt in Leipzig.