“US President Barack Obama announced that he intends to seek the death penalty if the five defendants are found guilty. German law prohibits capital punishment, yet evidence provided by German investigators will play a key role in the trail.”

“This presents the German government with a dilemma. Berlin can either oppose the use of German evidence in a bid to protect the defendants from execution – and risk alienating a NATO ally in the process – or it can approve the use of the incriminating documents, which would contravene Germany’s position on the death penalty.”

No Capital Punishment in Germany