Download
British authorities forced The Guardian newspaper to destroy material leaked by whistle-blower Edward Snowden, its editor has revealed, calling it a "pointless" move that would not prevent further reporting on US and British surveillance programs.
In a column in the paper on Tuesday, Alan Rusbridger said the "bizarre" episode a month ago and the detention at London's Heathrow airport on Sunday of the partner of a Guardian journalist showed the press freedom was under threat in Britain.
London's Metropolitan Police defended the detention under an anti-terrorism law of David Miranda, the Brazilian partner of US journalist Glenn Greenwald, saying it was "legally and procedurally sound".
Miranda, a Brazilian who was in transit on his way from Berlin to Rio de Janeiro where he lives with Greenwald, was questioned for nine hours before being released without charge without his laptop, mobile phone and memory sticks.
"This law shouldn't be given to police officers. They use it to get access to documents or people that they cannot get the legal way through courts or judges. It's a total abuse of power," Miranda said.
Greenwald was the first journalist to publish US and British intelligence secrets leaked by Snowden, the former US National Security Agency contractor who is wanted in the United States and has found temporary asylum in Russia.
Greenwald, who has met Snowden and written or co-authored many Guardian stories about US surveillance of global communications, vowed to publish more revelations and said Britain would "regret" detaining his partner.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters on Monday that while Washington did not ask British authorities to detain Miranda, Britain had given the US a "heads up" about plans to question him.
A US security official told Reuters that one of the main purposes of Miranda's detention was to send a message to recipients of Snowden's materials that the British government was serious about shutting down the leaks.
Rusbridger said that a month ago, after The Guardian had published several stories based on Snowden's material, a British official advised him: "You've had your fun. Now we want the stuff back."
Rusbridger said the paper was threatened with legal action by the government unless it destroyed or handed over the material from Snowden.
After further talks with the government, two "security experts" from Government Communications Headquarters, the secretive British equivalent of the NSA, visited The Guardian's London offices.
In the building's basement, Rusbridger wrote, government officials watched as computers that contained material provided by Snowden were physically pulverized. "We can call off the black helicopters," one of the officials joked, Rusbridger said.
About the broadcaster:
Lance Crayon is a videographer and editor with China Daily. Since living in Beijing he has worked for China Radio International (CRI) and Global Times. Before moving to China he worked in the film industry in Los Angeles as a talent agent and producer. He has a B.A. in English from the University of Texas at Arlington.
2016年高考英语总复习:1-1《School life》课件(牛津译林版)
2016高考英语二轮复习(单项选择)25分钟限时训练(4)
2016年浙江省杭州市外国语学校高考英语(阅读理解提分训练)每日一练41
2016年浙江省杭州市外国语学校高考英语(阅读理解提分训练)每日一练17
2016年浙江省杭州市外国语学校高考英语(阅读理解提分训练)每日一练18
2016高考英语二轮复习(单项选择)25分钟限时训练(6)
2016年浙江省杭州市外国语学校高考英语(阅读理解提分训练)每日一练05
2016年浙江省杭州市外国语学校高考英语(阅读理解提分训练)每日一练09
为什么越来越多的人嫌弃并剪掉衣服商标
2016高考英语二轮复习(单项选择)25分钟限时训练(8)
2016年浙江省杭州市外国语学校高考英语(阅读理解提分训练)每日一练31
2016年浙江省杭州市外国语学校高考英语(阅读理解提分训练)每日一练27
2016高考英语二轮书面表达训练:图文作文(26)
2016年浙江省杭州市外国语学校高考英语(阅读理解提分训练)每日一练32
2016年浙江省杭州市外国语学校高考英语(阅读理解提分训练)每日一练21
2016年浙江省杭州市外国语学校高考英语(阅读理解提分训练)每日一练42
2016年浙江省杭州市外国语学校高考英语(阅读理解提分训练)每日一练38
2016年浙江省杭州市外国语学校高考英语(阅读理解提分训练)每日一练16
2016年浙江省杭州市外国语学校高考英语(阅读理解提分训练)每日一练08
2016年浙江省杭州市外国语学校高考英语(阅读理解提分训练)每日一练09
2016高考英语二轮复习(完形填空)30分钟限时训练(2)
2016年浙江省杭州市外国语学校高考英语(阅读理解提分训练)每日一练44
2016年浙江省杭州市外国语学校高考英语(阅读理解提分训练)每日一练46
2016年浙江省杭州市外国语学校高考英语(阅读理解提分训练)每日一练15
2016年浙江省杭州市外国语学校高考英语(阅读理解提分训练)每日一练13
2016年浙江省杭州市外国语学校高考英语(阅读理解提分训练)每日一练14
2016年浙江省杭州市外国语学校高考英语(阅读理解提分训练)每日一练29
2016年浙江省杭州市外国语学校高考英语(阅读理解提分训练)每日一练07
2016年浙江省杭州市外国语学校高考英语(阅读理解提分训练)每日一练10
2016年浙江省杭州市外国语学校高考英语(阅读理解提分训练)每日一练34