1992 Court Appeal
In 1992, Ossietzky's 1931 conviction was upheld by Germany's Federal Court of Justice, applying the law as it stood in 1931 (this does not mean that the court accepted or retroactively legalized the later Nazi persecution of Ossietzky, which was clearly illegal even under Nazi Germany's law):
According to the case law of the Supreme Court of the German Reich, the illegality of covertly conducted actions did not cancel out the principle of secrecy. According to the opinion of the Supreme Court of the German Reich, every citizen owes his Fatherland a duty of allegiance regarding information, and endeavours towards the enforcement of existing laws may be implemented only through the utilization of responsible domestic state organs, and never by appealing to foreign governments. –Ruling of the Federal Court of Justice, 3 December 1992
Read more about this topic: Carl Von Ossietzky
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