Public Comment

The heavy handed actions of the US master spy agency, the NSA, have struck a piercing blow at the heart of democracy and freedom of the press. Acutely embarrassed by the revelations of Edward Snowden via the London Guardian and reporter Greg Greenwald, the British government held David Mirandra, Greenwald’s partner, for nine long hours at London’s Heathrow Airport. Jacob Appelbaum, computer security specialist has experienced similar harassment by US and other officials and lamented that “what is at stake is the ability for a human being to have dignity and for journalists to have integrity with their sources, threatening the whole concept of a free democracy," 

Reporters Without Borders issued a strongly statement castigating Miranda’s detention and stated, "the world’s most repressive states often identify journalism with terrorism and now the British authorities have crossed a red line by resorting to this practice.” 

Gareth Peirce, a prominent British attorney stated that Section 7, of the British law under which Mirandra was detained was a gross violation of the law’s intended purpose and was merely used to intimidate and punish Greenwald’s reporting actvities. 

Laura Poitras, a prominent journalist mocked the White House’ alleged claim that they had not instigated Mirandra’s detention. She has also been continually harassed and intimidated by security officials. Sadly, more and more reporters are leaving the US and are working for foreign bureaus to escape the tentacles of US and British officials – a sad commentary to our claim to be free and functioning democracy.