German police releases suspect of publishing politician data again

German police arrested a 20-year-old man on Sunday on suspicion of collecting and publishing private information on hundreds of people, including politicians. The suspect confessed but was released because there is no reason to hold him any longer.

The 20-year-old man was arrested in Hesse on Sunday, where computers and storage media were seized. The man was questioned on Monday and admitted the allegations and provided more information about his actions. He is suspected of having collected private data from politicians, journalists and YouTube acquaintances under the aliases G0d and 0rbit and to publish it via blogs and his Twitter account. The case caused a stir in Germany last weekend, with fears that it involved state hackers and the German intelligence services even called in the NSA for help.

However, the man stated that he acted alone and according to the police there are no indications that third parties are involved in the unauthorized publication of the data. Because there are no further grounds to detain the man any longer, such as a fear of flight danger, he has been released. According to German media, the young man still lived with his parents. The man would have come to his actions, because he would have been annoyed by the statements of the politicians, journalists and other victims. However, the police have no indications of a clear political motive.