Glenn Greenwald Says Britain Will "Regret" Detaining His Partner
British authorities detained and questioned Greenwald's partner, David Miranda, for nine hours at Heathrow Airport in London. According to Miranda, six British agents questioned him about every aspect of his life, and his laptop, cellphone, and memory sticks were seized. Miranda had been traveling to Rio De Janeiro, where Greenwald is currently based.
When asked at Rio De Janeiro's airport if the detainment of his partner would affect his future reporting, Greenwald said he would be even more aggressive.
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 regret what they did," he said.
"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."
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Miranda was detained under the Terrorism Act 2000, which allows British law enforcement to search and question individuals at airports and border areas. Britain's antiterrorism laws have become controversial, with critics saying that The Terrorism Act 2000 allows for searches without a warrant or reasonable suspicion and violates the right to silence by making it a criminal offense to not cooperate with questioning while being detained.
The Guardian reports that Brazil's government issued a statement saying it held "great concern" that Miranda, a Brazilian citizen, had been detained via antiterrorism laws even though " there are no charges that can legitimate the use of that legislation." Scotland Yard confirmed the incident to reporters, but did not comment.