Statement Goran Lefkov

I work for the Center for Investigative Journalism SCOOP Macedonia, which is part of an international network of journalist organizations. All major media outlets in Macedonia regularly reprint our investigations.

I like to express my concerns regarding the new German law that provides legal justification to the German intelligence services to wiretap my communication without any court permit.

For many years, I have worked on stories about Macedonian Telecom (a daughter of Deutsche Telekom) connected with several corruption cases and I investigated crime in numerous cases that are connected directly or indirectly to Germany.

In my investigations I am constantly dependent on sources that I communicate with via telephone, email or messaging services. However, if the communication of my sources is monitored they remain silent. This is why the law is compromising my work.

Therefore, I clearly consider the BND-law as a harmful attack against press freedom and especially against investigative journalists and thus a risk for fundamental and human rights.

With our breaking stories we expose wrongdoings, give voice to the powerless and protect the unprotected. This law makes our job so much harder. I do hope that it will be revised to protect investigative journalism from harm.