“I criticized the Terrorism Act before getting on the plane, then got arrested under the Terrorism Act upon landing.”
Richard Medhurst, a Syrian-British independent journalist who defends Palestinians’ right to resist Israeli apartheid, occupation, and other crimes, said this week that he was recently arrested at London’s Heathrow Airport and held for nearly 24 hours for allegedly running afoul of a highly controversial anti-terrorism law critics say is used to silence legitimate dissent.
By Brett Wilkins
Medhurst—who is known for his work opposing U.S., British, and Israeli war crimes in the Middle East and for his advocacy for formerly imprisoned WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange—said on social media Tuesday: “I criticized the Terrorism Act before getting on the plane, then got arrested under the Terrorism Act upon landing. Can’t make this up.”
In a nearly nine-minute video posted Monday night on X, the social network formerly known as Twitter, Medhurst said that “on Thursday, as I landed in London Heathrow Airport, I was immediately escorted off the plane by six police officers who were waiting for me at the entrance of the aircraft.”
“They arrested me—not detained—they arrested me under Section 12 of the Terrorism Act of 2000 and accused me of allegedly ‘expressing an opinion or belief that is supportive of a prescribed organization,’ but wouldn’t explain what this meant,” he continued.
If you thought Britain’s draconian terrorism laws were intended simply to stop terrorism, think again.
They’re also there to stop us learning about how our own government spreads terror.
Independent journalist Richard Medhurst gives shocking details about his arrest under the… https://t.co/A0SDKn20UI
— Jonathan Cook (@Jonathan_K_Cook) August 20, 2024
The controversial law criminalizes anyone who “invites support for a proscribed organization” or “expresses an opinion or belief that is supportive” of such a group. Violators can be punished with up to 14 years’ imprisonment and a fine.
As Laura Tiernan explained Tuesday at World Socialist Web Site:
Introduced by [former U.K. Prime Minister] Tony Blair’s Labour government, the act is a legal dragnet. In Medhurst’s case, it appears that commentary defending the right of Palestinians under international law to resist foreign military occupation and genocide is being defined as support for terrorism.
Hamas is among the organizations proscribed as terrorist by the U.K. government. While its military wing was proscribed in 2001, Hamas was banned in its entirety in 2021, aimed at criminalizing support for the Palestinian people. The political wing of Hamas won elections held in Gaza in 2006 and the organization also oversees charitable work.
Medhurst said: “I categorically and utterly reject all the accusations by the police. I am not a terrorist. I have no criminal record. Prior to this incident, I’d never been detained in my entire life.”
“I’m a product of the diplomatic community, and I’m raised to be anti-war,” he explained. “Both of my parents won Nobel Peace Prizes for their work as United Nations peacekeepers. They had a tremendous effect on my worldview and outlook and instilled in me the importance of diplomacy, international law, and peace.”
Medhurst said he was searched, handcuffed, and taken in a police van to a station where he was searched again, fingerprinted, photographed, and placed in solitary confinement. His phone and work equipment were seized. When he questioned why he’d been arrested, “the police would say something like: ‘Well, we’re just the arresting officers. We don’t really know.’”
“No one in the world knew what had happened to me or where I was,” he said. “I had to ask like four or five different guards for several hours until I finally received a call. In total, I spent almost 24 hours in detention. At no point whatsoever was I allowed to speak to a family member or a friend. After waiting 15 hours, I was finally interviewed by two detectives.”
“I felt that the whole process was designed to humiliate, intimidate, and dehumanize me and treat me like a criminal, even though they must’ve been aware of my background and that I’m a journalist,” Medhurst alleged. He contended that his arrest was “done on purpose to try and rattle me psychologically,” and noted that “many people have been detained in Britain because of their connection to journalism.”
He named Assange—who was freed in June following a plea deal with the U.S. government—as well as Scottish author Craig Murray, Grayzone correspondent Kit Clarenberg, and Glenn Greenwald’s late partner, Brazilian politician David Miranda, as people who have been targeted for their political beliefs and expression.
I am being politically persecuted by my own government, so unfortunately I am unable to speak freely or do my job as a journalist it seems.
I thought I’d seen it all in court with Julian’s case, but this is really something.
Behold our “freedom of the press”.
— Richard Medhurst (@richimedhurst) August 21, 2024
“Freedom of the press, freedom of speech really are under attack,” Medhurst warned in the video. “The state is cracking down and escalating to try and stop people from speaking out against our government’s complicity in genocide.”
Israel is currently on trial for genocide at the International Court of Justice over its 320-day assault on Gaza, which has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, wounded at least 93,000 others, starved hundreds of thousands more, and obliterated the coastal enclave.
“We cannot call ourselves a democracy as long as reporters are dragged off of planes and detained and treated like murderers,” Medhurst concluded. “I am disgusted that I am being politically persecuted in my own country.”
Brett Wilkins is a staff writer for Common Dreams.