German Court Rules Spying on Left Party Lawmaker Is Illegal
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Germany’s top court said government surveillance of a lawmaker in the anti-capitalist Left Party violates the constitution, offering a victory to a political faction tracing its roots to the East German communists.
The Federal Constitutional Court said observation of the politician, Bodo Ramelow, doesn’t adhere to “strict” requirements for placing a lawmaker under surveillance and impedes his mandate as a public servant. Ramelow, 57, the Left Party opposition leader in the eastern state of Thuringia, has been challenging surveillance in court for the past decade.