Ministry must release information about helicopter flight
The Ministry of Defense must release further information about the controversial helicopter flight of former minister Christine Lambrecht, on which Lambrecht's son also flew. This was decided by the Cologne Administrative Court in two rulings that became public on Thursday. The court thus largely upheld the claims of two journalists.
Lambrecht had taken her 21-year-old son with her on the flight in a government helicopter to visit troops in Schleswig-Holstein in April 2022. The next day, they drove on by car to Sylt for their vacation. According to her ministry, Lambrecht had duly applied for her son to fly with her and covered the costs in full.
According to the rulings, the ministry is obliged to hand over documents relating to the program of the troop visit, among other things. In addition, calculations by the air force and Bundeswehr regulations on the use of aircraft must be made available. According to the Administrative Court, the Ministry's objections to this did not apply. The ministry had argued, for example, that disclosure would jeopardize military and security-sensitive interests of the Bundeswehr. Details of the procedure could allow conclusions to be drawn about the capabilities of the battalion visited, and attempts at espionage could be made with knowledge of service regulations.
However, the disclosure does not apply to booking documents for hotel accommodation after the visit. According to the court, these do not concern an official but a private matter.
Appeals against the rulings are still possible. The case would then be heard by the Higher Administrative Court for the state of North Rhine-Westphalia in Münster. This court had already ruled in favor of a journalist in a similar case last year. At that time, the Ministry of Defense had to provide information about the details of the creation and publication of the much-discussed photo of Lambrecht's son in the Bundeswehr helicopter. As it turned out, Lambrecht had taken the picture himself.
The German Armed Forces must disclose the specific procedures and regulations used during the helicopter visit, as outlined in their processes for aircraft usage. The Ministry of Defense's Defense forces should also provide relevant calculations and Bundeswehr regulations regarding the controversial flight.
Source: www.dpa.com
