Peoplel & Politics - A Right to Forget? – How former Stasi agents continue to harass their victims - 05.12.2008

It has been almost two decades since Communist East Germany collapsed, together ith its system of spies and informants. Now, many of the former secret police agents want the files closed. They sue individuals, newspapers, exhibition curators, and even the government office in charge of the files whenever the names behind aliases are revealed. They say it’s time to draw a line under the past. They contend their privacy is being violated. And German courts sometimes even rule in their favor. We show examples of this campaign of intimidation and talk with experts on media rights and with staff from the agency that processes the Stasi files.