The supposed free-press UK just held Richard Medhurst under counter-terror laws

Independent journalist Richard Medhurst was detained for 24 hours by cops at Heathrow airport under counter-terrorism laws – presumably, he believes, for his reporting on Israel and Gaza.

Richard Medhurst: detained by cops

Richard Medhurst posted a video on social media explaining the situation. He said that on Thursday 15 August he was escorted off a plane by six cops. They explained that he was being arrested under Section 12 of the Terrorism Act 2000 – for, quote:

expressing an opinion or belief that is supportive of a proscribed organisation

Presumably, in Medhurst’s case this is either Hamas or Hezbollah.

He went on to describe how cops took his phone and did not allow him to tell his family they were detaining him. His belongings were confiscated, and cops held him for 24 hours. His cell was monitored by camera for the whole time he was there.

Medhurst said that:

I believe this was done to try and rattle me psychologically. That failed.

He’s not the first – and wont be the last

Of course, Richard Medhurst is not the first non-corporate media journalist to be detained by police under counter-terror laws. As the Canary previously reported, on 17 May 2023 six cops also detained Grayzone journalist Kit Klarenberg – again under counter-terror laws, but this time the Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Act (2019). This seemingly was due to Klarenberg’s work at the Grayzone, which is an anti-imperialist outlet. Also in 2023, cops similarly detained Craig Murray.

As Medhurst noted:

Those of us who, like myself, are speaking up and reporting on the situation in Palestine are being targeted

He also pointed out how his arrest must have been pre-planned – the implication being that clearly authorities are monitoring non-corporate media journalists’ output. This is probably one of the worst-kept secrets going. As independent journalist Alex Tiffin found out, the Cabinet Office under Boris Johnson had been monitoring his social media – and Canary journalist’s names cropped up in the data it had been storing on him.

A global problem

Of course, cops detaining Richard Medhurst is mild compared to how other countries treat their journalists. As Reporters Without Borders (RSF) wrote:

At least 1,059 journalists have been murdered in the past ten years, and 387 were arbitrarily detained at the end of 2020, according to RSF. The rate of impunity for crimes of violence against journalists is still around 90%. Threats and hate speech against journalists are flourishing online, as well as disinformation. And women journalists are being targeted both as journalists and as women.

Moreover, it’s often non-Western countries where journalists’ lives are most at risk. As UNESCO wrote:

Latin America and the Caribbean was the deadliest for journalists in 2022 with 44 killings, over half of all of those killed worldwide. Asia and the Pacific registered 16 killings, while 11 were killed in Eastern Europe.

And since Israel began its genocide in Gaza, it has killed at least 160 media workers since 7 October – the most recent being on 19 August.

So, a white, male journalist being detained for a few hours in the UK is very mild in comparison.

Richard Medhurst’s experience: where’s the outrage?

However, the situation in the UK is relative. Our state claims we have a free press – and condemns other, non-Western countries which don’t. Yet here it is actively targeting journalists like Richard Medhurst. Moreover, the institutions that are supposed to support journalists, like the NUJ, invariably don’t – unless they are on the payroll of a corporate outlet; that is, toeing the government’s line.

For a country that claims to be a democracy (and likes pushing its version of democracy onto other countries), the UK is not – and never has been – any such thing.

Featured image via Richard Medhurst – YouTube