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Vindictive misuse of the Anti-Terrorism Act?

Infinite Chaos

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[h=1]Glenn Greenwald's partner detained at Heathrow airport for nine hours[/h]David Miranda, partner of Guardian interviewer of whistleblower Edward Snowden, questioned under Terrorism Act

The partner of the Guardian journalist who has written a series of stories revealing mass surveillance programmes by the US National SecurityAgency was held for almost nine hours on Sunday by UK authorities as he passed through London's Heathrow airport on his way home to Rio de Janeiro.
David Miranda, who lives with Glenn Greenwald, was returning from a trip to Berlin when he was stopped by officers at 8.05am and informed that he was to be questioned under schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000. The controversial law, which applies only at airports, ports and border areas, allows officers to stop, search, question and detain individuals.
The 28-year-old was held for nine hours, the maximum the law allows before officers must release or formally arrest the individual. According to official figures, most examinations under schedule 7 – over 97% – last less than an hour, and only one in 2,000 people detained are kept for more than six hours. LINK

Vindictive misuse of the Anti-Terrorism Act? I certainly think so, David Miranda is by no means a terrorist and was simply returning to Brazil via London. His partner was the main target for the UK authorities and this was simply an attack on a journalist (via his partner) who is inconveniencing the UK and US govt by reporting to us mere mortals what the great and good have been doing to us behind our backs.

Shame on the UK govt for this.
 
Not the first time anti-terror laws have been misused by government.. hence I am against such measures.
 
Was he read his MIRANDA rights?

Dude...did you read the article? This was in the UK...

and it is not like Miranda rights are used for "terror suspects"... cough GITMO cough..
 
Vindictive misuse of the Anti-Terrorism Act? I certainly think so, David Miranda is by no means a terrorist and was simply returning to Brazil via London. His partner was the main target for the UK authorities and this was simply an attack on a journalist (via his partner) who is inconveniencing the UK and US govt by reporting to us mere mortals what the great and good have been doing to us behind our backs.

Shame on the UK govt for this.

I agree. This is shameful. None of the individuals involved, neither Snowden, nor Greenwald, nor his boyfriend can be considered terrorists by any stretch of the imagination. Vindictive? Maybe. Misuse? You're damn right.
 
Dude...did you read the article? This was in the UK...

and it is not like Miranda rights are used for "terror suspects"... cough GITMO cough..

Yes it was double funny considering his last name.
 
Must suck not having a sense of humor.

I have plenty of humour and understood the "joke" just fine. It is not funny pure and simple, since Miranda is a common Spanish/Portuguese surname (I suspect he is from Brazil) and the Miranda right is uniquely American, hence totally irrelevant when talking about a guy held by the UK police, in the UK...
 
Vindictive misuse of the Anti-Terrorism Act? I certainly think so, David Miranda is by no means a terrorist and was simply returning to Brazil via London. His partner was the main target for the UK authorities and this was simply an attack on a journalist (via his partner) who is inconveniencing the UK and US govt by reporting to us mere mortals what the great and good have been doing to us behind our backs.

Shame on the UK govt for this.

I understand the rationale behind this stop - it's interesting to me that Mr. Miranda is well known to authorities as Greenwald's partner. Since Greenwald has stated in the past that he will not travel to the US, as an example, because he believes that his reporting would get him arrested there, it's not really surprising that someone travelling that is connected with him wouldn't be "questioned" in case that person was perhaps being used to transport information to him.

However, it is reflective of our society today and how it is becoming less and less a place where free-thinking people will enjoy living.
 
Two interesting developments (three maybe)

1) The US govt has denied asking their the UK govt to detain Miranda.

2) Glenn Greenwald has now made it clear he will more aggressively pursue British Intelligence through his journalism.

And third - the Brazilian government has made it plain it is unhappy about the treatment of an innocent and demanded this does not happen again.

Thankfully, senior politicians and Senior British politicians and David Anderson QC, have asked the police to explain the detention.
I just hope this story stays in the newspapers and in the headlines as the Terrorism powers are plainly being misused.
 
Two interesting developments (three maybe)

1) The US govt has denied asking their the UK govt to detain Miranda.

And yet they were warned that it would happen? hmmm...

2) Glenn Greenwald has now made it clear he will more aggressively pursue British Intelligence through his journalism.

Good for him but hope he is careful... accidents do happen after all.

And third - the Brazilian government has made it plain it is unhappy about the treatment of an innocent and demanded this does not happen again.

Thankfully, senior politicians and Senior British politicians and David Anderson QC, have asked the police to explain the detention.
I just hope this story stays in the newspapers and in the headlines as the Terrorism powers are plainly being misused.

Considering the amount of Gibraltar coverage on Sky News vs this.. then I doubt it. Seems Murdoch is helping his friends in government, or at least trying too.
 
-- Considering the amount of Gibraltar coverage on Sky News vs this.. then I doubt it. Seems Murdoch is helping his friends in government, or at least trying too.

I'm not so sure, a few journalists have been interviewed (and former journalists) who see government harassment and intimidation of journalists - especially in this case going to harassing a journalist through his private life. I get the feeling some may see the govt has crossed a line that shouldn't be crossed.
 
I'm not so sure, a few journalists have been interviewed (and former journalists) who see government harassment and intimidation of journalists - especially in this case going to harassing a journalist through his private life. I get the feeling some may see the govt has crossed a line that shouldn't be crossed.

well, did you see Sky News yesterday? Wall to wall coverage and highly biased and one sided coverage of the Gibraltar "issue", and relatively to this, very little about this guy and the case. The BBC were better, and had it even on news night, where the spy agencies and right wing sent in one of their lackeys to attack the BBC and totally avoid questions (but she was a looker!).

No, I expect that there will be a new foriegn policy issue or something domestic that is a big "scandal" according to the Tories with in a day, so that the media is divert away from this as soon as possible. But not even the live coverage on Sky News of the British military task force arriving at Gibraltar could kill the story..
 
--- (but she was a looker!) --

Good to see you focus on the issues.. :lamo

Sky may have Murdoch leaning on them but that does not cover the other papers and Media which have already tasted blood in the past with ministerial scandals, cash for questions, phone tapping etc etc.
 
Good to see you focus on the issues.. :lamo

Hey it is a well known marketing trick...

Sky may have Murdoch leaning on them but that does not cover the other papers and Media which have already tasted blood in the past with ministerial scandals, cash for questions, phone tapping etc etc.

Yes, but how many of them are actually pushing for it.. especially after what has happened to the Guardian. Plus lets not forget a large majority of UK newspapers are owned and run by rabid right wingers and backers of the Conservative party.. so
 
Vindictive misuse of the Anti-Terrorism Act? I certainly think so, David Miranda is by no means a terrorist and was simply returning to Brazil via London. His partner was the main target for the UK authorities and this was simply an attack on a journalist (via his partner) who is inconveniencing the UK and US govt by reporting to us mere mortals what the great and good have been doing to us behind our backs.

Shame on the UK govt for this.

This sort of harrassment of people for political reasons sounds like the sort of thing you'd expect to hear from Russia, not from the UK. And you guys may have heard about how hard drives from the Guardian were shredded under state supervision.

That whole system is strange anyway, why can the UK police detain and interrogate people without those people having a right to see a lawyer?
 
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This sort of harrassment of people for political reasons sounds like the sort of thing you'd expect to hear from Russia, not from the UK. And you guys may have heard about how hard drives from the Guardian were shredded under state supervision.

That whole system is strange anyway, why can the UK police detain and interrogate people without those people having a right to see a lawyer?

Because, under Section 7 of the POA, that's the law. It's a bad law, and one that a lot of people pointed out at the time of its implementation, but the law nonetheless.
 
This story gets worse and worse - as mentioned above, the Guardian had to hand over computers to the Govt,

The discussions resulted in the newspaper destroying computer hard drives storing the information, under the supervision of intelligence experts from GCHQ.

Miranda himself had to hand over all his electronic possessions to the agents but now I read he was then also forced to give over his internet passwords.

A Brazilian man held for nine hours at Heathrow airport under anti-terror laws has said he was forced to divulge email and social media account passwords.

David Miranda said his interrogators threatened that he could go to prison if he did not do so.

What the heck kind of country have we become when a law like this is used against anyone the government conveniently labels as a "terrorist?" It appears David Cameron was kept up to date with everything so we can't pretend this was the rogue actions of a few police officers.
 
This story gets worse and worse - as mentioned above, the Guardian had to hand over computers to the Govt,



Miranda himself had to hand over all his electronic possessions to the agents but now I read he was then also forced to give over his internet passwords.



What the heck kind of country have we become when a law like this is used against anyone the government conveniently labels as a "terrorist?" It appears David Cameron was kept up to date with everything so we can't pretend this was the rogue actions of a few police officers.

Its been like this since 9/11.... if not before. Only difference is that thanks to Snowdon, it is now out in the open.

The powergrab that happened after 9/11 was massive, first by the Americans with the patriot act and other legislation and later on by the Europeans.. either by their own legislation or bending over and taking it up the...... because the Americans demanded.

The very fact that to go to the US, you need to not only advise them on your arrival, but the Americans can also demand detailed financial and other information from the Europeans, which they do for everyone. Just the other day it was revealed in Denmark, that a guy was banned entry into the US because he had the mobile phone number of a person of interest. Basically what happened is that he got a new phone number, that use to belong to this person of interest, so now he is on the no fly list and banned from the US.

This will only get worse.
 
The things that will be the possible downfall of Cameron on this issue are the following.

1) It seems to have been ordered by Downing Street. One of Camerons office mangers have been linked to this.. which in political speak means he is the patsy and in reality it came from Cameron himself.
2) And they detained a transit passenger and the Met police have no jurisdiction to do that... ups?

The Guardian and Miranda are suing the UK government now... and damn I hope they win big time.
 
Matthew Ryder QC, who is representing Mr Miranda, told the High Court on Thursday they wanted a 14-day freeze on the inspection of Mr Miranda's phone and computer.

He also wanted police to reveal with whom they may have shared information taken from Mr Miranda.

Mr Ryder told Lord Justice Beatson and Mr Justice Kenneth Parker that Mr Miranda was questioned and property in his possession was seized "under threat of criminal prosecution in a coercive use of Schedule 7 which was unlawful".

Confidentiality protected
The secretary general of the European human rights watchdog the Council of Europe, Thorbjorn Jagland, has written a letter to the home secretary to express his concern about the treatment of Mr Miranda, warning it "may have a potentially chilling effect on journalists' freedom of expression".

And EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding tweeted: "I fully share Mr Jagland's concerns."

I'm in full support of the human rights watchdog of the Council of Europe and anyone else pursuing this case, I doubt Cameron will fall over this but this must surely wound the government deeply. The defence will be that it is the EU meddling in UK affairs so we need more international bodies to take interest in this case.
 
I'm in full support of the human rights watchdog of the Council of Europe and anyone else pursuing this case, I doubt Cameron will fall over this but this must surely wound the government deeply. The defence will be that it is the EU meddling in UK affairs so we need more international bodies to take interest in this case.

One small issue.. Council of Europe has nothing what so ever to do with the EU.

Council of Europe - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

It was founded in 1949, has 47 member states with some 800 million citizens, and is an entirely separate body[1] from the European Union (EU),

Not that facts will stop Cameron and UKIP from exploiting any comments that are critical and coming from the Council of Europe.. by painting it as if it is from the EU.. after that is what they do every freaking time.
 
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