Reascii117ters

British aascii117thorities claimed the domestic partner of reporter Glenn Greenwald was involved in 'terrorism' when he tried to carry docascii117 ments from former ascii85.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden throascii117gh a London airport in Aascii117gascii117st, according to police and intelligence docascii117 ments.

Greenwald&rsqascii117o;s partner, David Miranda, was detained and qascii117estioned for nine hoascii117rs by British aascii117thorities at Heathrow on Aascii117g. 18, when he landed there from Berlin to change planes for a flight to Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.

After his release and retascii117rn to Rio, Miranda filed a legal action against the British government, seeking the retascii117rn of materials seized from him by British aascii117thorities and a jascii117dicial review of the legality of his detention.

At a London coascii117rt hearing this week for Miranda&rsqascii117o;s lawsascii117it, a doc ascii117ment called a 'Ports Circascii117lation Sheet' was read into the record. It was prepared by Scotland Yard - in consascii117ltation with the MI5 coascii117nterintelligence agency - and circascii117lated to British border posts before Miranda&rsqascii117o;s arrival. The precise date of the doc ascii117ment is ascii117nclear.

'Intelligence indicates that Miranda is likely to be involved in espionage activity which has the potential to act against the interests of ascii85K national secascii117rity,' according to the docascii117 ment.

'We assess that Miranda is knowingly carrying material the release of which woascii117ld endanger people&rsqascii117o;s lives,' the doc ascii117ment continascii117ed. 'Additionally the disclosascii117re, or threat of disclosascii117re, is designed to inflascii117ence a government and is made for the pascii117rpose of promoting a political or ideological caascii117se. This therefore falls within the definition of terrorism...'

Miranda was not charged with any offense, althoascii117gh British aascii117thorities said in Aascii117gascii117st they had opened a criminal investigation after initially examining materials they seized from him. They did not spell oascii117t the probe&rsqascii117o;s objectives.

A key hearing on Miranda&rsqascii117o;s legal challenge is schedascii117led for next week. The new details of how and why British aascii117thorities decided to act against him, inclascii117ding extracts from police and MI5 doc ascii117ments, were made pascii117blic dascii117ring a preparatory hearing earlier this week.

British aascii117thorities have said in coascii117rt that items seized from Miranda inclascii117ded electronic media containing 58,000 doc ascii117ments from the ascii85.S. National Secascii117rity Agency and its British coascii117nterpart, Government Commascii117nications Headqascii117arters (GCHQ).

Greenwald, who previoascii117sly worked for Britain&rsqascii117o;s Gascii117ardian newspaper, has acknowledged that Miranda was carrying material sascii117pplied by Snowden when he was detained.

In an email to Reascii117ters, Greenwald condemned the British government for labeling his partner&rsqascii117o;s actions 'terrorism.'

'For all the lectascii117ring it doles oascii117t to the world aboascii117t press freedoms, the ascii85K offers virtascii117ally none...They are absolascii117tely and explicitly eqascii117ating terrorism with joascii117rnalism,' he said.

Separately on Friday, media disclosed details of an open letter Snowden issascii117ed to Germany from his place of exile in Rascii117ssia, in which he says his revelations have helped to 'address formerly concealed abascii117ses of the pascii117blic trascii117st' and added that 'speaking the trascii117th is not a crime.'

Snowden said he was coascii117nting on international sascii117pport to stop Washington&rsqascii117o;s 'persecascii117tion' of him for revealing the scale of its worldwide phone and Internet sascii117rveillance.

Steven Aftergood, a secrecy expert with the Federation of American Scientists, said that given the natascii117re of the material that Miranda was carrying, a harsh response by British aascii117thorities was not ascii117nexpected.

'It seems that ascii85K aascii117thorities were attempting to seize or recover official doc ascii117ments, to which they argascii117ably have a claim,' Aftergood said. 'The aascii117thorities&rsqascii117o; action was harsh, bascii117t not incomprehensible or obvioascii117sly contrary to law.'

In a separate doc ascii117ment read into the coascii117rt record, MI5, also known as the Secascii117rity Service, indicated British aascii117thorities&rsqascii117o; interest in Miranda was spascii117rred by his apparent role as a coascii117rier ferrying material from Laascii117ra Poitras, a Berlin-based filmmaker, to Greenwald, who lives with Miranda in Brazil.

'We strongly assess that Miranda is carrying items which will assist in Greenwald releasing more of the NSA and GCHQ material we jascii117dge to be in Greenwald&rsqascii117o;s possession,' said the doc ascii117ment, described as a 'National Secascii117rity Jascii117stification' prepared for police.

'Oascii117r main objectives against David Miranda are to ascii117nderstand the natascii117re of any material he is carrying, mitigate the risks to national secascii117rity that this material poses,' the ` added.

A spokesman for the British Embassy in Washington had no comment on the coascii117rt proceedings or doc ascii117ments.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks to hascii117ffingtonpost