Greenwald’s Partner Told He Would Be ‘Put in Jail’
In his first interview since being detained and interrogated for nine hours Sunday by British authorities under the Terrorism Act, David Miranda, the partner of the Guardian journalist who broke stories of mass surveillance by the National Security Agency this summer, has accused Britain of a "total abuse of power."
In his first interview since being detained and interrogated for nine hours Sunday by British authorities under the Terrorism Act, David Miranda, the partner of the Guardian journalist who broke stories of mass surveillance by the National Security Agency this summer, has accused Britain of a “total abuse of power.”
Miranda told The Guardian on Monday that U.K. authorities pandered to the U.S. by trying to intimidate him into revealing passwords to his computer and mobile phone, which they succeeded in doing by repeatedly using the words “prison” and “station,” Miranda said. Officials in both countries want access to private records that they could use to build a public opinion or legal case against Miranda’s partner, journalist Glenn Greenwald.
“They were threatening me all the time and saying I would be put in jail if I didn’t co-operate,” Miranda said. “They treated me like I was a criminal or someone about to attack the UK. … It was exhausting and frustrating, but I knew I wasn’t doing anything wrong.”
Miranda is a Brazilian who lives with Greenwald in Rio de Janeiro. He was held for the maximum time permitted under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000, which allows officers to stop, search and question people at airports, ports and border areas. He was returning to his home in Rio after visiting Berlin, where he was transferring materials between Greenwald and Laura Poitras, the American filmmaker who worked on the NSA stories. Poitras was named Truthdigger of the Week over the weekend.
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Miranda was seized almost as soon as his British Airways flight touched down on Sunday morning. “There was an announcement on the plane that everyone had to show their passports. The minute I stepped out of the plane they took me away to a small room with four chairs and a machine for taking fingerprints,” he recalled.
His carry-on bags were searched and, he says, police confiscated a computer, two pen drives, an external hard drive and several other electronic items, including a games console, as well two newly bought watches and phones that were packaged and boxed in his stowed luggage.
… “This law shouldn’t be given to police officers. They use it to get access to documents or people that they cannot get the legal way through courts or judges,” said Miranda. “It’s a total abuse of power.”
He was offered a lawyer and a cup of water, but he refused both because he did not trust the authorities. The questions, he said, were relentless – about Greenwald, Snowden, Poitras and a host of other apparently random subjects.
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In an op-ed for The New York Times, The Intercept co-founder decries the Brazilian government's encouragement of violence against the press.
An appeals court rules in favor of David Miranda, who was detained for nine hours at Heathrow Airport in 2013 while transporting National Security Agency documents leaked by Edward Snowden.
Sarah Harrison, an editor at WikiLeaks who has also worked with NSA whistle-blower Edward Snowden, won't return to her home country because she fears prosecution under terrorism laws for seeking to influence her government.
A lower U.K. court Wednesday upheld the legality of the nine-hour detention of NSA investigator Glenn Greenwald's partner under the Terrorism Act of 2000, and refused permission to appeal the decision. Greenwald comments on the outcome at The Intercept.
British authorities suspect David Miranda of a terrorist act because they say he carried documents from whistle-blower Edward Snowden; Obamacare is merely feeding Wall Street more of Americans' money; meanwhile, President Obama has cracked down on pot. These discoveries and more after the jump.
The violation of Miranda's rights has created a political firestorm in Britain, whose equivalent to the National Security Agency, the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), has come under equal scrutiny for widespread surveillance.
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