U.K. Court rules british journalist arrest over Snowden files was legal

A UK court determined that the arrest and subsequent holding by British authorities of the partner of a journalist at the Heathrow Airport in London was legal. Bloomberg said David Miranda, who partnered with Glenn Greenwald of the Guardian newspaper, had 58,000 classified documents in his possession at the time of his arrest. The documents in Miranda's possession was reportedly obtained by former US security contractor Edward Snowden during a detention on August 18. In November, the British government claimed that Miranda was a threat to national security, and even invoked comparisons of the publication of the confidential material Miranda had at that time to an act of terrorism against UK.

Glenn Greenwald is the journalist who did the controversial report on the mass e-mail surveillance allegedly conducted by the US National Security Agency. Bloomberg also said the US government had long wanted to file charges against Snowden for his acts. The whistleblower had already fled initially to Hong Kong, and then finally to Russia. Snowden's revelations had earned him accolades for his efforts, with two Norwegian lawmakers already filed a nomination for the former government contractor to win the Nobel Peace Price, said Bloomberg.

In a written decision by Judge John Laws, he said, "(The arrest of Miranda) was a proportionate measure in the circumstances. Its objective was not only legitimate, but very pressing."

Lawyer Gwendolen Morgan, who represented Miranda, said  his camp will be filing for an appeal, as the decision had raised critically important legal issues for the journalism industry.

In November of last year, Matthew Ryder, another lawyer who also represented Miranda, told London court judges that the Snowden leaks initiated an international debate, of which will not happen if the former contractor had not done what he did. Miranda at that time was seeking a legal review over his arrest done by British authorities in connection to the Snowden leak, Bloomberg had said.

UK Home Secretary Theresa May, on the other hand, said the court decision fully supports the action done by its authorities. In a statement, she said, "If the police believe any individual is in possession of highly sensitive stolen information that would aid terrorism, then they should act."

Tags

Edward Snowden, Glenn Greenwald partner arrest, US government

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