Detaining my partner: a failed attempt at intimidation The detention of my partner, David Miranda, by UK authorities will have the opposite effect of the one intended > * Glenn Greenwald > * theguardian.com, Sunday 18 August 2013 14.44 EDT > * Jump to comments (23) >At 6:30 am this morning my time - 5:30 am on the East Coast of the US - I >received a telephone call from someone who identified himself as a "security >official at Heathrow airport." He told me that my partner, David Miranda, had >been "detained" at the London airport "under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act >of 2000." >David had spent the last week in Berlin, where he stayed with Laura Poitras, >the US filmmaker who has worked with me extensively on the NSA stories. A >Brazilian citizen, he was returning to our home in Rio de Janeiro this morning >on British Airways, flying first to London and then on to Rio. When he arrived >in London this morning, he was detained. >At the time the "security official" called me, David had been detained for 3 >hours. The security official told me that they had the right to detain him for >up to 9 hours in order to question him, at which point they could either >arrest and charge him or ask a court to extend the question time. The official >- who refused to give his name but would only identify himself by his number: >203654 - said David was not allowed to have a lawyer present, nor would they >allow me to talk to him. >I immediately contacted the Guardian, which sent lawyers to the airport, as >well various Brazilian officials I know. Within the hour, several senior >Brazilian officials were engaged and expressing indignation over what was >being done. The Guardian has the full story here. >Despite all that, five more hours went by and neither the Guardian's lawyers >nor Brazilian officials, including the Ambassador to the UK in London, were >able to obtain any information about David. We spent most of that time >contemplating the charges he would likely face once the 9-hour period elapsed. >According to a document published by the UK government about Schedule 7 of the >Terrorism Act, "fewer than 3 people in every 10,000 are examined as they pass >through UK borders" (David was not entering the UK but only transiting through >to Rio). Moreover, "most examinations, over 97%, last under an hour." An >appendix to that document states that only .06% of all people detained are >kept for more than 6 hours. >The stated purpose of this law, as the name suggests, is to question people >about terrorism. The detention power, claims the UK government, is used "to >determine whether that person is or has been involved in the commission, >preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism." >But they obviously had zero suspicion that David was associated with a >terrorist organization or involved in any terrorist plot. Instead, they spent >their time interrogating him about the NSA reporting which Laura Poitras, the >Guardian and I are doing, as well the content of the electronic products he >was carrying. They completely abused their own terrorism law for reasons >having nothing whatsoever to do with terrorism: a potent reminder of how often >governments lie when they claim that they need powers to stop "the >terrorists", and how dangerous it is to vest unchecked power with political >officials in its name. >Worse, they kept David detained right up until the last minute: for the full 9 >hours, something they very rarely do. Only at the last minute did they finally >release him. We spent all day - as every hour passed - worried that he would >be arrested and charged under a terrorism statute. This was obviously designed >to send a message of intimidation to those of us working journalistically on >reporting on the NSA and its British counterpart, the GCHQ. >Before letting him go, they seized numerous possessions of his, including his >laptop, his cellphone, various video game consuls, DVDs, USB sticks, and other >materials. They did not say when they would return any of it, or if they >would. >This is obviously a rather profound escalation of their attacks on the >news-gathering process and journalism. It's bad enough to prosecute and >imprison sources. It's worse still to imprison journalists who report the >truth. But to start detaining the family members and loved ones of journalists >is simply despotic. Even the Mafia had ethical rules against targeting the >family members of people they feel threatened by. But the UK puppets and their >owners in the US national security state obviously are unconstrained by even >those minimal scruples. >If the UK and US governments believe that tactics like this are going to deter >or intimidate us in any way from continuing to report aggressively on what >these documents reveal, they are beyond deluded. If anything, it will have >only the opposite effect: to embolden us even further. Beyond that, every time >the US and UK governments show their true character to the world - when they >prevent the Bolivian President's plane from flying safely home, when they >threaten journalists with prosecution, when they engage in behavior like what >they did today - all they do is helpfully underscore why it's so dangerous to >allow them to exercise vast, unchecked spying power in the dark. >David was unable to call me because his phone and laptop are now with UK >authorities. So I don't yet know what they told him. But the Guardian's lawyer >was able to speak with him immediately upon his release, and told me that, >while a bit distressed from the ordeal, he was in very good spirits and quite >defiant, and he asked the lawyer to convey that defiance to me. I share it, as >I'm certain US and UK authorities will soon see. > > > >From:The Guardian [mailto:userplatformfeedb...@guardian.co.uk] >Sent: Sunday, August 18, 2013 2:47 PM >To: a...@texnology.com >Subject: New in Glenn Greenwald on security and liberty: Detaining my partner: >a failed attempt at intimidation > >We've just published a new article in Glenn Greenwald on security and liberty: >Detaining my partner: a failed attempt at intimidation >18 Aug 2013, 19:44 BST >Thank you, >The Guardian > >________________________________ > >http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/aug/18/david-miranda-detained-uk-nsa
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