The investigation of two journalists at the German website, Netzpolitik.org, has been dropped by Germany's chief federal prosecutor on Monday, according to the BBC. Markus Beckedahl, the founder of the site, and Andre Meister, a blogger, were originally suspected of giving away state secrets by way of committing treason through publishing supposed confidential information about Internet surveillance on their blog, according to the New York Times.
The case itself ignited political outcry from the people of Germany surrounding the topic of free speech. Late last week, Chief Federal Prosecutor Harald Range was fired in response to the rising controversy, according to BBC.
The decision to drop the case comes as little surprise, however.
Gerhard Altvater, acting chief prosecutor, said in a statement that the information published on the blog did not constitute state secrets, as they simply detailed plans to heighten online communications, according to Yahoo News. Beckedahl, Netzpolitik's founder, gave a statement upon the dismissal of the investigation, saying that it was, "long overdue," and that the dismissal was "inefficient," according to the New York Times.
On his website, Beckedahl called the investigation "a judicial misjudgment," according to the BBC.
Netzpolitik.org is a website centered around online privacy, freedom of the media and Germany's intelligence services, according to the New York Times.
