Hans-Martin Tillack
Encyclopedia
Hans-Martin Tillack is a German
reporter. Born 1961 in Königs Wusterhausen
near Berlin, he grew up in Stuttgart
.
He studied politology and sociology in Marburg
and Berlin, worked for five years as reporter for taz
before coming to Stern
in 1993 – first in Bonn
, from 1999 to 2004 in Brussels
, today in Berlin
.
In 2005, he received the Leipziger Medienpreis for his EU reporting.
He was the most efficient in exposing Eurostat scandal
, the EU statistical body based in Luxembourg. Working for German news magazine Stern
, for months he wrote his successive findings and Stern magazine published his revelations about hidden accounts and fictitious contracts. Until May 16 2003 when Financial Times headlines revealed "A vast enterprise for looting community funds". Two top French managers were removed from office and the whole Eurostat directorate was dismissed. Six separate fraud
investigations into Eurostat were required by OLAF
, the EU anti-fraud body.
Subsequently Hans-Martin Tillack was arrested by Belgian police at the instigation of authorities of the European Union
, whose bodies he was investigating in relation to allegations of fraud. OLAF suggested that the reporter had bribed EU officials in order to gather documents for an article he published in 2002 on alleged irregularities in OLAF.
An action by Belgian police followed that resulted in the journalist being detained by the police for several hours, his home and office being searched, and possessions including 16 boxes of documents, two archive boxes, two computers and four mobile phones being seized.
In 2007, the European Court of Human Rights
judged that Hans-Martin Tillack's right not to reveal his sources of information had been violated and asked Belgium to pay him €10,000 for moral damages as well as €30,000 in costs.
The hundreds of pages of seized documents were eventually returned to him in 2008.
In January 2009, the Belgian judiciary on Tuesday definitively closed the case brought by the EU anti-fraud office, OLAF, in 2004 against Hans-Martin Tillack.
Aidan White, general secretary of the European Federation of Journalists
(EFJ) which supported Mr Tillack throughout the case, argued the need for EU officials to apologise to the journalist.
Articles:
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
reporter. Born 1961 in Königs Wusterhausen
Königs Wusterhausen
Königs Wusterhausen is a town in the Dahme-Spreewald district of the state of Brandenburg in Germany.-Geographical location:Königs Wusterhausen – or "KW" as it is often called locally – lies on the Notte Canal and the river Dahme southeast of Berlin...
near Berlin, he grew up in Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
.
He studied politology and sociology in Marburg
Marburg
Marburg is a city in the state of Hesse, Germany, on the River Lahn. It is the main town of the Marburg-Biedenkopf district and its population, as of March 2010, was 79,911.- Founding and early history :...
and Berlin, worked for five years as reporter for taz
Die tageszeitung
die tageszeitung , was founded in 1978 in Berlin. It is a cooperative-owned German daily newspaper which is administrated by a workers' self-management...
before coming to Stern
Stern (magazine)
Stern is a weekly news magazine published in Germany. It was founded in 1948 by Henri Nannen, and is currently published by Gruner + Jahr, a subsidiary of Bertelsmann. In the first quarter of 2006, its print run was 1.019 million copies and it reached 7.84 million readers according to...
in 1993 – first in Bonn
Bonn
Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....
, from 1999 to 2004 in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, today in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
.
In 2005, he received the Leipziger Medienpreis for his EU reporting.
He was the most efficient in exposing Eurostat scandal
Eurostat scandal
In 2000, internal auditors raised concerns about fictitious Eurostat's contracts with outside companies and referred the matter to the European Anti-Fraud Office, OLAF...
, the EU statistical body based in Luxembourg. Working for German news magazine Stern
Stern (magazine)
Stern is a weekly news magazine published in Germany. It was founded in 1948 by Henri Nannen, and is currently published by Gruner + Jahr, a subsidiary of Bertelsmann. In the first quarter of 2006, its print run was 1.019 million copies and it reached 7.84 million readers according to...
, for months he wrote his successive findings and Stern magazine published his revelations about hidden accounts and fictitious contracts. Until May 16 2003 when Financial Times headlines revealed "A vast enterprise for looting community funds". Two top French managers were removed from office and the whole Eurostat directorate was dismissed. Six separate fraud
Fraud
In criminal law, a fraud is an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual; the related adjective is fraudulent. The specific legal definition varies by legal jurisdiction. Fraud is a crime, and also a civil law violation...
investigations into Eurostat were required by OLAF
OLAF
The European Anti-fraud Office is charged by the European Union with protecting the financial interests of the European Union: Its tasks are to fight fraud affecting the EU budget, as well as corruption and any other irregular activity, including misconduct, within the European Institutions, in an...
, the EU anti-fraud body.
Subsequently Hans-Martin Tillack was arrested by Belgian police at the instigation of authorities of the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
, whose bodies he was investigating in relation to allegations of fraud. OLAF suggested that the reporter had bribed EU officials in order to gather documents for an article he published in 2002 on alleged irregularities in OLAF.
An action by Belgian police followed that resulted in the journalist being detained by the police for several hours, his home and office being searched, and possessions including 16 boxes of documents, two archive boxes, two computers and four mobile phones being seized.
In 2007, the European Court of Human Rights
European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is a supra-national court established by the European Convention on Human Rights and hears complaints that a contracting state has violated the human rights enshrined in the Convention and its protocols. Complaints can be brought by individuals or...
judged that Hans-Martin Tillack's right not to reveal his sources of information had been violated and asked Belgium to pay him €10,000 for moral damages as well as €30,000 in costs.
The hundreds of pages of seized documents were eventually returned to him in 2008.
In January 2009, the Belgian judiciary on Tuesday definitively closed the case brought by the EU anti-fraud office, OLAF, in 2004 against Hans-Martin Tillack.
Aidan White, general secretary of the European Federation of Journalists
European Federation of Journalists
The European Federation of Journalists is a branch of the International Federation of Journalists. It is the largest organisation of journalists in Europe, representing about 260,000 journalists in over thirty countries...
(EFJ) which supported Mr Tillack throughout the case, argued the need for EU officials to apologise to the journalist.
Books
- Die korrupte Republik: Über die einträgliche Kungelei von Politik, Bürokratie und Wirtschaft (The corrupt Republic: Lucrative fiddling of politics, bureaucracy and economy), by Hans-Martin Tillack, Hoffmann und Campe, 2009
- Raumschiff Brüssel. Wie die Demokratie in Europa scheitert (Spaceship Brussels. How democracy in Europe fails), by Andreas Oldag and Hans-Martin Tillack, FischerS. Fischer VerlagThe German publishing house S. Fischer Verlag was founded in 1886 by Samuel Fischer in Berlin and is a leading German address for literary publications and fiction.Originally, it was renowned for naturalism literature...
(paperback), 2004
Raumschiff Brüssel. Wie die Demokratie in Europa scheitert, by Andreas Oldag and Hans-Martin Tillack, Argon Verlag, 2003
External links
- stern.de/blog/6_hans-martin_tillack – Hans-Martin Tillack's blog at stern.de
- exberliner.com/articles/muckraker – Interview in English with Hans-Martin Tillack in EXBERLINER Magazine
Articles:
- German reporter comes out on top in EU bribery case, Elitsa Vucheva, EUobserverEUobserverEUobserver.com is an independent online newspaper covering the politics of the European Union .It focuses on human rights, civil liberties, transparency, anti-corruption, digital rights, critical environmentalism and the democratisation of the European Union...
, 6.1.2009 - EU anti-fraud office denies responsibility in journalist leak case, Elitsa Vucheva, EUobserver, 30.11.2007
- German journalist gets court backing in EU leak case, Elitsa Vucheva, EUobserver, 28.11.2007