LONDON: Britain’s High Court yesterday ruled that material seized from the Brazilian partner of a journalist working to publish secrets from US leaker Edward Snowden can only be partially examined by police.
Police in Britain launched a criminal investigation over the data, claiming the files it has seen are “highly sensitive” and would be “gravely injurious to public safety” if revealed.
David Miranda, 28, the partner and assistant of Guardian journalist Glenn Greenwald, was detained for nine hours at London Heathrow Airport under anti-terror laws as he changed planes on Sunday.
The Brazilian, who helped Greenwald work on the Snowden material, had his laptop, phone, memory cards and other electronic equipment confiscated by agents.
Snowden, a former US National Security Agency contractor, leaked information on mass surveillance programmes conducted by the NSA and Britain’s electronic eavesdropping agency GCHQ (Government Communications Headquarters).
Based on the material Snowden provided, British newspaper the Guardian has published a series of reports detailing the programmes, infuriating Washington.
Calling yesterday’s ruling a partial victory, Miranda’s lawyer Gwendolen Morgan said the Home Office, or interior ministry, and London police headquarters Scotland Yard now had seven days to prove there was a genuine threat to Britain’s security.
“The defendants are not to inspect, copy, disclose, transfer or distribute — whether domestically or to any foreign government or agency — or interfere with the materials obtained from Mr Miranda under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act, save for the purposes of protection of national security,” she said. AFP
