Editing Treason (section)

===Germany===
German law differentiates between two types of treason: "High treason" (''Hochverrat'') and "treason" (''Landesverrat''). High treason, as defined in Section 81<ref>{{cite web|title=High Treason|url=http://www.iuscomp.org/gla/statutes/StGB.htm#BIii|work=Criminal Code|publisher=The Comparative Law Society|access-date=17 November 2012}}</ref> of the [[Law of Germany|German criminal code]] is defined as an attempt against the existence or the constitutional order of the [[Germany|Federal Republic of Germany]] that is carried out either with the use of violence or the threat of violence. It carries a penalty of life imprisonment or a fixed term of at least ten years. In less serious cases, the penalty is 1–10 years in prison. German criminal law also criminalises high treason against a [[States of Germany|German state]]. Preparation of either types of the crime is criminal and carries a penalty of up to five years.

The other type of treason, ''Landesverrat'' is defined in Section 94.<ref>{{cite web|title=Treason And Endangering External Security|url=http://www.iuscomp.org/gla/statutes/StGB.htm#BII|work=Criminal Code|publisher=The Comparative Law Society|access-date=17 November 2012}}</ref> It is roughly equivalent to espionage; more precisely, it consists of betraying a secret either directly to a foreign power, or to anyone not allowed to know of it; in the latter case, treason is only committed if the aim of the crime was explicitly to damage the Federal Republic or to favor a foreign power. The crime carries a penalty of one to fifteen years in prison. However, in especially severe cases, life imprisonment or any term of at least five years may be sentenced.

As for many crimes with substantial threats of punishment active repentance is to be considered in mitigation under §83a StGB (Section 83a, Criminal Code).

Notable cases involving ''Landesverrat'' are the [[Weltbühne trial]] during the [[Weimar Republic]] and the [[Spiegel scandal]] of 1962. On 30. July 2015, [[Public Prosecutor General (Germany)|Germany's Public Prosecutor General]] [[Harald Range]] initiated criminal investigation proceedings against the German blog [[netzpolitik.org]].