FBI Shutdown of Indymedia Threatens Free Speech

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Fri, 15 Oct 2004 15:04:11 -0700

FBI Shutdown of Indymedia Threatens Free Speech

 

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ACTION ALERT:

FBI Shutdown of Indymedia Threatens Free Speech

 

October 15, 2004

 

In a chilling attack on free speech, U.S. authorities on October 7

seized two internet servers in London belonging to the independent

media network

Indymedia. More than 20 Indymedia sites around the world were taken

down as a result of the raid. The servers were returned on October 14,

but no formal charges have been announced and no explanation has been

given for the raid.

 

FBI spokesperson Joe Parris told Agence France Presse that the raid

was " not an FBI operation " but that the FBI issued the subpoena on

behalf of Italy and Switzerland (10/8/04). U.S. authorities have

refused to comment further.

 

Rackspace, the U.S.-based company that hosts the Indymedia servers at

its London offices, revealed in a press release that the subpoena was

issued " pursuant to a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT), which

establishes procedures for countries to assist each other in

investigations such as international terrorism, kidnapping and money

laundering. " Rackspace told Indymedia that they could not reveal any

information about the subpoena—apparently the result of a gag order

(Indymedia, 10/7/04).

 

Swiss authorities said they have opened an investigation into

Indymedia coverage of the 2003 G8 Summit in Evian and that they had

asked the FBI to help remove photos of Swiss undercover police from a

French Indymedia site (AFP, 10/9/04). The FBI visited both a

Seattle-based Indymedia lawyer and Rackspace about the photos, and

Indymedia believed the issue had been resolved (Indymedia, 10/9/04).

The site was among those housed on the seized servers; Swiss

authorities, however, have not indicated that they

asked the FBI to seize the servers.

 

An Italian prosecutor investigating an anarchist group reportedly also

requested assistance from the U.S. to obtain information about posts

on Italian Indymedia, but she apparently also did not request the

seizure of the servers (italy.indymedia.org, 10/14/04). While the

details of the subpoena remain undisclosed, the FBI's aggressive

action against Indymedia is troubling.

 

Indymedia, which provides grassroots reporting on social justice

issues and protests, is a decentralized network that allows anyone to

post news on its websites. If there is reason to suspect that

participants on these websites are involved with criminal activities,

shutting down the servers is rather like shutting down the phone

system because people have been using the telephone to plot crimes.

 

To silence over 20 media sites around the world with no charges and no

explanation strikes a severe blow against freedom of expression and

should trouble media outlets worldwide. European media have been

covering the story, but in this country, the media have been virtually

silent. Aside from two AP articles (10/8/04, 10/14/04), one by UPI

(10/11/04) and one in the Hartford Courant (10/13/04), FAIR found no

mainstream news outlets reporting on the Indymedia story.

 

This is not the first time Indymedia has been targeted by U.S.

authorities. During the Republican National Convention in August, the

Secret Service attempted to obtain private records from NYC

Indymedia's Internet Service Provider; the ISP refused. The FBI

attempted to obtain similar records from Indymedia servers during the

massive protests against the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas in

Quebec City but lost the legal battle (Indymedia, 8/31/04).

 

If there is credible evidence of actual crimes that involve Indymedia

websites, then an investigation that respects Indymedia's rights as a

media outlet may be warranted. But FBI action that intimidates or

silences media around the world under a shroud of secrecy is an

extraordinary and grave threat to free speech.

 

 

ACTION: Please sign the Indymedia solidarity declaration

(http://solidarity.indymedia.org.uk/) denouncing the hard drive

seizure and demanding a full disclosure of who is involved in the

seizure, a copy of the court order, and an independent investigation

into any violations of due process.

 

For more information and updates, see: http://www.indymedia.org

 

 

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