UK police raid home, seize devices of EI’s Asa Winstanley

Ali Abunimah From the Editors 17 October 2024

A man holds up and speaks into a microphone sitting between two people

Asa Winstanley (R Witts Photography)

British counterterrorism police on Thursday raided the home and seized several electronic devices belonging to The Electronic Intifada’s associate editor Asa Winstanley.

Approximately 10 officers arrived at Winstanley’s North London home before 6 am and served the journalist with warrants and other papers authorizing them to search his house and vehicle for devices and documents.

A letter addressed to Winstanley from the “Counter Terrorism Command” of the Metropolitan Police Service indicates that the authorities are “aware of your profession” as a journalist but that “notwithstanding, police are investigating possible offenses” under sections 1 and 2 of the Terrorism Act (2006). These provisions set out the purported offense of “encouragement of terrorism.”

An officer conducting Thursday’s raid informed Winstanley that the investigation was connected with the journalist’s social media posts. Attempts to reach the Metropolitan Police Service for comment for this story have been unsuccessful.

Although his devices were seized, Winstanley was not arrested and has not been charged with any offense.

Winstanley is active on several social media platforms, and has more than 100,000 followers on Twitter/X, where he frequently shares articles, other peoples’ opinions and his own comments on Israel’s crimes against the Palestinian people, British government support for these crimes, and the Palestinian resistance to Israeli occupation, apartheid and genocide.

The vaguely worded provisions relating to “encouragement of terrorism” would clearly violate the First Amendment of the United States Constitution guaranteeing freedom of speech, however the United Kingdom lacks similar constitutional protections for freedom of expression.

The draconian legislation “curtails a range of freedoms,” according to University of Edinburgh law professor Andrew Cornford, including “the freedoms to discuss controversial topics openly, and to share moral, political and religious opinions.”

Human Rights Watch has called on the British government to repeal the repressive provisions of the Terrorism Act (2006), noting that “the definition of the encouragement of terrorism offense is overly broad, raising serious concerns about undue infringement on free speech.”

In August, Britain’s Crown Prosecution Service issued a warning to the British public to “think before you post” and threatening that it would prosecute anyone it deemed guilty of what it calls “online violence.”

“Journalism is not a crime”

The police raid on Winstanley’s home and the seizure of his devices appears to be the latest use by British authorities of repressive “counterterrorism” legislation to crack down on journalists and activists involved in reporting on or protesting Israel’s crimes, including its ongoing genocide in the Gaza Strip.

In December, Winstanley reported for The Electronic Intifada on how British counterrorism police arrested Mick Napier and Tony Greenstein, two prominent activists, for saying they support the Palestinian right to resist Israel – a right enshrined in international law.

As part of his bail conditions, Greenstein, an author and contributor to The Electronic Intifada, was ordered “not to post on X (formerly Twitter) in regards to the ongoing conflict in Gaza.”

In mid-August, British journalist Richard Medhurst was arrested on arrival at London’s Heathrow Airport, detained under the Terrorism Act (2000), and had his phone and recording devices that he used for his journalism seized.

“Richard Medhurst’s arrest and detention for almost 24 hours using terrorism legislation is deeply concerning and will likely have a chilling effect on journalists in the UK and worldwide, in fear of arrest by UK authorities simply for carrying out their work,” Michelle Stanistreet, general secretary of the UK’s National Union of Journalists and Anthony Bellanger, general secretary of the International Federation of Journalists, said at the time in a joint statement.

“Both the NUJ and IFJ are shocked at the increased use of terrorism legislation by the British police in this manner,” Stanistreet and Bellanger added. “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.”

Nonetheless, later in August, British counterrorism police raided the home of Sarah Wilkinson, a Palestine solidarity activist with a large following, also reportedly in relation to content she posted online.

Full solidarity with Asa Winstanley

The letter handed to Winstanley by police refers to the raid on his home as being part of “Operation Incessantness,” perhaps indicative of a broad and ongoing crackdown against critics of Israel’s British-backed crimes.

Winstanley’s most recent investigative article, “How Israel killed hundreds of its own people on 7 October,” brings together a year of The Electronic Intifada’s reporting, along with new information, detailing Israel’s use of the Hannibal Directive – a secret order that allows Israeli forces to kill their own citizens rather than allowing them to be taken captive.

Winstanley is the author of Weaponising Anti-Semitism: How the Israel Lobby Brought Down Jeremy Corbyn, a book culminating from his years of reporting on Britain’s Labour Party while it was in opposition.

Since 2019, the Labour Party launched an investigation and has made legal threats in apparent retaliation for Winstanley’s journalism.

Now that Labour is the UK’s ruling party, it has the potential to use the apparatus of the state against those it views as its own – or Israel’s – political enemies.

The raid on Winstanley’s home is clearly intended to intimidate and silence him, as well as other journalists and activists.

As far as The Electronic Intifada is concerned, it will have only the opposite effect. Our colleague Asa Winstanley can count on our full support and solidarity, and as a publication we will continue to pursue with vigor any stories documenting British complicity in Israel’s crimes.

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Comments

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laure heinz replied on

I am astounded at the draconian law and behavior of the British government treating pro-Palestinian Journalists as criminals, thus performing the task of honest, forthright journalism as a crime. I just yesterday watched the Electronic Intifada Livestream and admired Asa's reporting work on the Hannibal directive, which I have been following throughout this past year of Israeli genocidal insanity. Full solidarity with Asa!!!

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SeekingAletheia replied on

Saying that we have no such freedom of expression laws in the UK is legal ignorance. We have the human rights act and the police are in breach of article 10.

“Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers.”

They also can NOT deny someone the right to expression on a public platform per this same legal article, again they are overreaching their powers beyond their remit. More people need to counter sue this illiberal government and its finger men.

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Max Gurman replied on

Asa’s reporting has shone a light on the entity’s crimes, and they are scared of him. The west is precisely the dystopia it claims other places to be. Full solidarity with Asa and his courageous and impeccable journalism. Please let us know if there is anything we, your audience, can do to help support him.

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Dena Bugel-Shunra replied on

I will just state publicly that I stand with Asa, with the Electronic Intifada, and with the Palestinian people. Israel may try to outlaw reporting on the genocide it is committing, using the blunt tools of UK law. But it will never succeed.

Solidarity.

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Keith Woodhall replied on

Hello,

As a long time reader and viewer of your excellent electronic intifada I'm sadly surprised but not shocked at what has been happening to Journalists ever since the laughably named Labour party were installed in power. Starmes time as head of the cps showed that he was a power hungry dictator driven to use all the powers of the state to punish anyone standing against US and UK foreign policy. We are now seeing what starmer will do now that all those powers are at his fingertips. I hope Asa is alright and deterred ny this cynical use of out of date "anti terror" laws. Shame on starmer and shame on this cesspit of a racist country for "electing" him to power. Long live Palestine. Long live the resistance.

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Clare replied on

Can't believe this! Absolutely shocking. I look forward to the day that all the leaders if the so called free worlds are up in front of a judge for complicency to war crimes and allowing and assisting genocide 🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸💔💔💔💔💔

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Ali Abunimah

Co-founder of The Electronic Intifada and author of The Battle for Justice in Palestine, now out from Haymarket Books.

Also wrote One Country: A Bold-Proposal to End the Israeli-Palestinian Impasse. Opinions are mine alone.