The person in question would have had to participate in an illegal act, not just be a registered Stasi member.
Peter Michael Diestel, minister za notranje zadeve, je menil, da dokumentov ne bi smeli uporabljati za ugotavljanje nedolžnosti ali krivde in trdil, da »obstajata zgolj dve vrsti posameznikov, ki so bili dejansko nedolžni v tem sistemu.