http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/mai...eu20.xml&sSheet=/news/2004/03/20/ixworld.html Police arrested a leading investigative journalist yesterday on the orders of the European Union, seizing his computers, address books and archive of files in a move that stunned Euro-MPs. Hans-Martin Tillack, the Brussels correspondent for Germany's Stern magazine, said he was held for 10 hours without access to a lawyer by the Belgian police after his office and home were raided by six officers. "They asked me to tell them who my sources were. I replied that was something I would never do. Now they have all my sensitive files, so I suppose they'll find out anyway," he said last night. "The police said I was lucky I wasn't in Burma or central Africa, where journalists get the real treatment," he added. Mr Tillack said the raid was triggered by a complaint from the EU's anti-fraud office, OLAF. He was accused of paying money to obtain a leaked OLAF dossier two years ago, which he denies. The European Ombudsman has already come to his defence, issuing a harsh criticism of OLAF's campaign to silence him. Mr Tillack, who describes himself as a "pro-European federalist", has been OLAF's most vocal critic, accusing it of covering up abuses within the EU system. As the author of a recent book on EU corruption, he has the greatest archive of investigative files of any journalist working in Brussels. OLAF was created to replace the old fraud office UCLAF, which was accused of covering up abuses by the disgraced Santer Commission. Many UCLAF staff were transferred to OLAF.
so instead of fixing their shit, or running a tighter ship where people don't leak classified info, they harass this guy for exposing their problems? i'm sure there's another side to the story (there always is) but so far it looks pretty bad. i'd never expect it from a western country however, if he did print classified info, which would be an offence, i suppose, then he should be punished
Oh and the Patriot Acts are so NOT fascist! In the US you can say goodbye to the staple of western law, Habeus Corpus. Men in the US have been known to stay up to months without legal aid. So before you call Europeans Gestapo's do look in the mirror. It may amaze you!
Hey undecided- you might find it interesting to read some Howard Zinn. In a wee book of some essays i read yesterday, he often mentions times when the US gvt has chucked out the first amendment and a variey of other things that normal citizens take for granted. AS for the EU,. well, its what i would have expected. fortunately, as Dee CEe pointed out, its raised a bit of a ruckus, however, i am not optimistic about real changes happening from this.
he often mentions times when the US gvt has chucked out the first amendment and a variey of other things that normal citizens take for granted. Against whom though? When? It is very interesting indeed...
I never said anything concerning the Patriot Act, thank you for pointing out the irony of so many looking at the EU as a model saint and protector of rights. I disagree with the Patriot Act. The laws contained therein are all things that were on the table before, but 9/11 got it all pushed to the forefront. Yes, sadly, as in Spain, the terrorists affected our society and people reacted by passing the Patriot Act.
I never said anything concerning the Patriot Act, thank you for pointing out the irony of so many looking at the EU as a model saint and protector of rights. The level of extrajudicial activity btwn the US and the EU, there is really no compare. The US has forfeited its civil liberties, and now you complain about the Europeans. Pot+kettle... The laws contained therein are all things that were on the table before, but 9/11 got it all pushed to the forefront. What do you by this though? Put on the table? Whose table? Before 9.11 there was no need for this law, do explain.
Undecided, it's "habeas" with an a, not a u, and... what does this "great staple" have to do with "legal aid"? I assume that you mean counsel by "legal aid," and, well, 'you should have the body' has jack to do with the right to counsel. If you're not talking about the right to counsel, but about the real meaning of habeas corpus, then... well... it takes time for a writ to go through and be approved. That's why it takes months in some cases. Recently, however, I did take a look at a text of the Patriot Acts, and I'm sorry to admit that a few of the anti-terroristic measures do seem constitutionally dubious... :bugeye:
What I meant to have a right to have a trail in the approiate time ,and to have the right legal conucil which are being denied to American citizens who are believed to be part of terrorist organizations: http://web.amnesty.org/pages/guantanamobay-index-eng http://web.amnesty.org/report2003/Usa-summary-eng
"but so far it looks pretty bad. i'd never expect it from a western country" I think, the only country that may not do such things could be UK to its white folks. Rest are fair game in these days due to the decline of Judeo-Christian values. People are nastier these days everywhere, growing up in a one family or no family environment. In Oklahoma, the divorce rate is 70% and people stay mad or drunk 24/7.
