Glenn Greenwald’s partner David Miranda has reportedly filed a civil suit against the British government for his nine hour detention under the “Terrorism Act,” as well as demanding the return of assorted electronics, including his cell phone, camera, DVDs and video games which were confiscated by the British police.
Miranda’s detention has already fueled a major backlash, with human rights watchdogs as well as top British parliamentarians insisting the operation overtly abused the Terrorism Act to carry out the bizarre detention.
Incredibly, Home Secretary Theresa May endorsed the operation, insisting that it was totally up to police what they thought was terrorism related, and adding that any of Miranda’s DVDs or video games could’ve conceivable contained information “that could help terrorists,” and therefore his capture and the theft of the materials was legal.
The lawsuit could have major ramifications for journalism in Britain, as if the Terrorism Act really means, as May and others asserts, that police can capture people tangentially related to journalists deemed unfriendly to the state, and take everything they have in their possession “just in case,” the ability of journalists to travel to and from Britain with sensitive documents would be in serious, serious doubt.
Their ridiculous police state law says they can “with no valid suspicion” detain anybody to determine if they are a terrorist, or at a stretch, helping terrorists. They want to claim that this “information” could help terrorists. But carrying around a million dollars cash “could help terrorists”, what matters is not whether it COULD help terrorists but whether the person being detained IS part of a terrorist conspiracy. I hope to God that this stuff is shut down, whether thru British courts or ECHR or people just taking a stand.
Major governments around the world already know everybody is spying on everybody. The thing they're worried about is that the public finds out. So, who in their minds is the enemy? Obviously, its the people.
These government functionaries sure are ugly people, on the inside and the outside!
This is the Mr. Hyde effect, the inside evil shows up on the outside.
Theresa May is a government bureaucrat — no more, no less. She holds her position at the discretion of the prime minister, just as any Cabinet secretary in the US serves at the president's pleasure. If she were to do anything other than fervently defend the regime's tyranny, Cameron (alias "Obama's poodle") would instantly demand her resignation.