On the Arrest of Richard Medhurst

Richard Medhurst

The arrest of the reporter Richard Medhurst, who has been one of the most ardent critics of the genocide in Gaza and Israeli apartheid state, at Heathrow airport is part of the steady march towards the criminalization of journalism, something all of us, including Medhurst, understood lay at the heart of the long persecution of Julian Assange.

Where the “norm” was for police to detain people for questioning under Schedule 7, Medhurst became the first journalist in Britain to be arrested under Section 12 of the draconian Terrorism Act.

After being taken into custody by 6 police officers, having his electronic equipment seized and questioned, he was placed in solitary confinement for almost 24 hours. He was released on pre-charge bail. He will remain under investigation for at least 3 months and faces the prospect of being charged with an offence that could carry a prison sentence of up to 14 years.

This arrest is about paralyzing his work, and the work of all who call out Israel for its mass slaughter. It is an ominous warning to any who stand up for Palestinian rights. It is designed to have a chilling effect on reporting that elucidates Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza and increasingly the West Bank, as well as the active collaboration in this extermination of the Palestinian people by the U.S. and U.K. governments. Medhurst’s arrest has nothing to do with fighting terrorism, at least for those who still believe journalism is not terrorism.

If we do not vigorously oppose Medhurst’s arrest, if we do not denounce the use of terrorism laws to attempt to silence journalists, including the Scottish journalist Craig Murray, Greyzone correspondent Kit Carenberg and the late David Miranda who was working with Glenn Greenwald on the files leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, Medhurst’s arrest will become the “norm.”