It is an unprecedented case. And it risks triggering an unprecedented threat to journalism. The UK police have repeatedly tried to obtain the passwords to the phones of the British independent journalist, Richard Medhurst, the first reporter arrested in London under Section 12: his analyses and comments on Israel’s bloodbath in Gaza – which Amnesty International has characterised as genocide – have been interpreted by the police as support for organisations banned from the UK, such as Hamas and Hezbollah.
The British journalists’ union, the NUJ, and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) publicly condemned his arrest and the use of anti-terrorism laws against journalists “simply for carrying out their work”.
Richard Medhurst is the first reporter arrested and under investigation under Section 12 of the Terrorism Act 2000. The UK police have sought to obtain the passwords to his phones, including a highly secure phone with a Graphene operating system. If the UK authorities prevail,no journalist travelling to London will be safe any longer when it comes to source protection