UK Claim That 'Journalism Equals Terrorism' Sparks Outrage

Outrage and denunciations are following reports out of the UK which show that the British government has labeled the husband of journalist Glenn Greenwald a “terrorist” for allegedly possessing leaked NSA documents while passing through London’s Heathrow Airport earlier this year.

In August, David Miranda was detained by security while on a layover between Germany and the home he shares with Greenwald in Brazil. Detained for nearly nine hours under the claimed authority of a anti-terrorism statute in the country called Schedule 7, the incident made international headlines within the larger dramatic arch surrounding the story of NSA spying and global surveillance generated by documents leaked by Edward Snowden.

Subsequent to his release and safe return to Brazil, Miranda filed suit against the British government for his treatment.

“They are absolutely and explicitly equating terrorism with journalism.” –Glenn Greenwald

As Reuters reports:

The use of the words “espionage” and “terrorism” to describe what Miranda was doing immediately generating outrage among journalists and open government advocates across the world.

“For all the lecturing it doles out to the world about press freedoms, the UK offers virtually none,” said Greenwald to Reuters in response to the news about his Brazilian husband, David Miranda.

“They are absolutely and explicitly equating terrorism with journalism,” he added while condemning the language.

But Greenwald was not alone in his repudiation

As Associated Press reporter Matt Apuzzo tweeted shortly after the story broke:

David Leigh, investigations editor at the UK Guardian newspaper, responded with this:

Wikileaks tweeted:

And independent journalist Kevin Gostzola writes:

Ironic or not, Greenwald himself has been one of the most articulate critics of the selective employment of the word “terrorism” in the post-9/11 era. In numerous cases, Greenwald has repeatedly described its appropriation by governments as a way to indict violent actions by others while refusing the term be used to describe its own political violence or war-making.

In post earlier this year exploring why the word’s use is not just a question of semantics, Greenwald wrote:

And as he tweeted on Saturday following the latest revelation from Scotland Yard:

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