Top Editors Call Out UK Govt: 'Detention of Miranda Undermines Free Press'

Editors of Europe’s top newspapers wrote a joint open letter to UK Prime Minister David Cameron slamming the detention and investigation of David Miranda—partner of journalist Glenn Greenwald who exposed secret surveillance programs of the US and UK governments—as a blow against open debate and democracy that “has ramifications far beyond the borders of the UK, undermining the position of the free press throughout the world.”

“We are surprised by the recent acts by officials of your government against our colleagues at the Guardian and deeply concerned that a stout defender of democracy and free debate such as the United Kingdom uses antiterror legislation in order to legalise what amounts to harassment of both the paper and individuals associated with it,” the editors of Denmark’s Politiken, Sweden’s Dagens Nyheter, Norway’s Aftenposten, and Finland’s Helsingin Sanomat wrote in an open letter that appeared in the Guardian’s Observer Saturday.

“Moreover, it is deeply disturbing that the police have now announced a criminal investigation. We hope this is not to be seen as a step against journalists doing journalism,” they declared.

Click Here: cheap all stars rugby jersey

Miranda, a Brazilian citizen, was detained for 9 hours last Sunday as he passed through London’s Heathrow Airport on his way home from a visit with film-maker Laura Poitras, who helped break the spying revelations stories. The police invoked the UK’s Schedule 7, part of the country’s Terrorism Act 2000, to hold Miranda.