Government use civil police to persecute whistle blowers and journalists

The Guardian reports  on the use of the Police  for political purposes against  the partner of a Guardian journalist, Glen Greenwald, who dared to write stories the government did not like.

In their  relentless persecution of whistle-blowers  the UK government abused the Anti Terrorist Act  to wrongfully detain  Glenn's partner David who was  not involved in any way.

They abused the legal system  in order to  steal David's mobile phone, laptop, camera, memory sticks, DVDs and games consoles in  case they contain information they  could use against Glenn.   But so far as the games console is concerned just to intimidate or maybe  the corrupt cop will give it to his  own kids.

David will  most likely never see the return of his stolen property and he  has no-one to complain to because the police are the thieves. 

If anyone wondered if the British Police are political police, like the Stasi of old,  then here is a touch of  clear  evidence

 Here's the link to a petition to Theresa May Home Secretary exercise the few rights this Government  have left you with PEOPLE POWER  and sign
http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/ukhomeoffice-theresa-may-review-the-use-of-schedule-7-of-terrorism-act?share_id=kazadVRsli&utm_campaign=signature_receipt&utm_medium=email&utm_source=share_petition

 

Guardian Journalist  Glenn Greenwald's partner detained at Heathrow airport for nine hours

The move sparked a furious response from Greenwald.

“I will be far more aggressive in my reporting from now. I am going to publish many more documents. I am going to publish things on England too. I have many documents on England’s spy system. I think they will be sorry for what they did,” said Greenwald, speaking in Portuguese to reporters at Rio de Janeiro's international airport, Reuters reported.

"They wanted to intimidate our journalism, to show that they have power and will not remain passive but will attack us more intensely if we continue publishing their secrets," he said.

There was also angry reaction from Brazilian authorities, as well as from journalists and human rights activists in the UK.

The Brazilian government said in statement that Miranda’s detention was “without justification.”

 

The Guardian reported that :- 

 David Miranda, partner of Guardian interviewer of whistleblower Edward Snowden, questioned under Terrorism Act

• Guardian staff
• The Guardian, Sunday 18 August 2013 22.28 BST

Glenn Greenwald (right) and his partner David Miranda, who was held by UK authorities at Heathrow airport. Photograph: Janine Gibson

The partner of the Guardian journalist who has written a series of stories revealing mass surveillance programmes by the US National Security Agency 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 under an hour, and only one in 2,000 people detained are kept for more than six hours.
Miranda was released, but officials confiscated electronics equipment including his mobile phone, laptop, camera, memory sticks, DVDs and games consoles.
Since 5 June, Greenwald has written a series of stories revealing the NSA's electronic surveillance programmes, detailed in thousands of files passed to him by whistleblower Edward Snowden. The Guardian has also published a number of stories about blanket electronic surveillance by Britain's GCHQ, also based on documents from Snowden.
While in Berlin, Miranda had visited Laura Poitras, the US film-maker who has also been working on the Snowden files with Greenwald and the Guardian. The Guardian paid for Miranda's flights.
"This is a profound attack on press freedoms and the news gathering process," Greenwald said. "To detain my partner for a full nine hours while denying him a lawyer, and then seize large amounts of his possessions, is clearly intended to send a message of intimidation to those of us who have been reporting on the NSA and GCHQ. The actions of the UK pose a serious threat to journalists everywhere.
"But the last thing it will do is intimidate or deter us in any way from doing our job as journalists. Quite the contrary: it will only embolden us more to continue to report aggressively."
A spokesperson for the Guardian said: "We were dismayed that the partner of a Guardian journalist who has been writing about the security services was detained for nearly nine hours while passing through Heathrow airport. We are urgently seeking clarification from the British authorities."
A spokesperson for Scotland Yard said: "At 08:05 on Sunday, 18 August a 28-year-old man was detained at Heathrow airport under schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000. He was not arrested. He was subsequently released at 17:00."
Scotland Yard refused to be drawn on why Miranda was stopped using powers which enable police officers to stop and question travellers at UK ports and airports.
There was no comment from the Home Office in relation to the detention. However, there was surprise in political circles and elsewhere. Labour MP Tom Watson said that he was shocked at the news and called for it to be made clear if any ministers were involved in authorising the detention.
He said: "It's almost impossible, even without full knowledge of the case, to conclude that Glenn Greenwald's partner was a terrorist suspect.
"I think that we need to know if any ministers knew about this decision, and exactly who authorised it."
"The clause in this act is not meant to be used as a catch-all that can be used in this way."
Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act has been widely criticised for giving police broad powers under the guise of anti-terror legislation to stop and search individuals without prior authorisation or reasonable suspicion – setting it apart from other police powers.
Those stopped have no automatic right to legal advice and it is a criminal offence to refuse to co-operate with questioning under schedule 7, which critics say is a curtailment of the right to silence.
Last month the UK government said it would reduce the maximum period of detention to six hours and promised a review of the operation on schedule 7 amid concerns it unfairly targets minority groups and gives individuals fewer legal protections than they would have if detained at a police station.

also read  http://www.theguardian.com/law/2013/aug/19/david-miranda-detention-schedule-7-terrorism-act?CMP=twt_gu

see video  http://rt.com/news/snowden-greenwald-uk-secrets-681/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

also read http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/aug/19/david-miranda-schedule7-danger-reporters?commentpage=1

also read  http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/08/20/adeel-akhtar-david-miranda-terror-arrest_n_3784179.html?show_comment_id=278243994#comment_278243994