Counterterrorism police in the UK have raided the home of a pro-Palestinian journalist and seized electronic devices under the country’s Terrorism Act. His crime? Supporting the concept of Palestinian liberation.
Asa Winstanley is an associate editor for Electronic Intifada, a US-based independent online news website that focuses on Palestine and has been around since 2001. He has worked tirelessly to expose the falsehoods disseminated by the Israeli government about the Hamas attacks that took place last October and spurred the current conflict with Gaza. He has also contributed to articles for the Middle East Eye and wrote the book Weaponising Anti-Semitism.
According to a report from Electronic Intifada, around 10 officers raided his home in the early hours of the morning, serving him with search warrants for his home and vehicle.
A letter from the Metropolitan Police Service’s Counter Terrorism Command said that authorities were aware that he was a journalist but needed to investigate him for potential offenses related to the first two sections of the Terrorism Act of 2006. The cited provisions relate to “encouragement of terrorism.”
One of the officers involved in the raid told the journalist that his social media posts were at the heart of the investigation. He often posts on social media and has more than 100,000 followers on X. He shares articles and commentary about atrocities carried out by Israel against Palestinians, in addition to criticizing the British government for its support of Israel.
In one recent post on X, he wrote: “The Lebanese resistance continues to successfully target military positions; “Israel” continues its mass murder of babies, women and men." Beneath this caption, he shared pictures from the drone explosion that took place at an Israeli military base in Haifa recently.
He has also been reporting on arrests and raids conducted by counter-terrorism police against pro-Palestine activists and journalists. In one of his most recent investigative articles, “How Israel killed hundreds of its own people on 7 October,” he explored the Hannibal Directive, which authorized Israel to kill its own citizens to prevent them from being taken as hostages.
He has not been arrested or charged yet, but authorities seized multiple devices during the raid. The Electronic Intifada released a statement offering their full support to Winstanley and committing to continue reporting on Israel’s actions against Palestinians.
UK Terrorism Act is being used to censor journalists who support Palestinian causes
While Americans’ constitutional guarantee to freedom of speech would theoretically protect the opinions Winstanley shared online, the UK is different, and its Terrorism Act limits several categories of speech. University of Edinburgh law professor Andrew Cornford said that these include "the freedoms to discuss controversial topics openly, and to share moral, political and religious opinions."
The raid on Winstanley’s home is part of a wider UK crackdown against critics of Israel. For example, journalist Richard Medhurst was recently detained when he arrived at Heathrow Airport under the Terrorism Act.
In addition, the home of an activist who has attracted a significant following online, Sarah Wilkinson, was raided by counter-terrorism police, while Palestinian solidarity activists Tony Greenstein and Mick Napier were arrested after voicing their support for Palestine.
The International Federation of Journalists and the National Union of Journalists have spoken out about the way counter-terrorism legislation is being used to silence journalists and activists alike, stating that these actions “will likely have a chilling effect on journalists in the UK and worldwide.”
“Journalism is not a crime. Powers contained in anti-terror legislation must be deployed proportionately – not wielded against journalists in ways that inevitably stifle press freedom,” the groups stated.
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