As Israel’s campaign of targeted murder of Palestinian journalists continues, the UK government to its shame continues to abuse badly-constructed anti-terror legislation to persecute pro-Palestinian journalists, with a police raid today on the home of Electronic Intifada (EI) associate editor Asa Winstanley, ten officers raiding his home in North London and seizing electronic devices. According to EI,

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.

Asa Winstanley is active and highly followed across social media platforms, reporting on Israel’s genocide in Gaza and the Palestinian resistance and, before that, for many years on Israel’s occupation and persecution of the Palestinian people.

The Terrorism Act 2006, considered by human rights groups and legal experts to be an appallingly drafted law designed to be abused. Section 11 of the Act makes even having an opinion supportive of a ‘proscribed’ group a criminal offence – and in certain circumstances even to refuse to answer a question or to provide device passwords is a criminal offence.

Since Keir Starmer – a noted authoritarian long considered a tool of the Security State – got into power in July, his regime has threatened anyone expressing a disapproved opinion with prosecution for supposed ‘online violence’. This has manifested particularly in the targeting of journalists who report honestly on Israel’s genocide in Gaza and of activists who try to work against it.

In August, police detained journalist Richard Medhurst citing the Terrorism Act as his plane arrived in the UK, before stripping him of his electronic devices and forcing him to disclose passwords. Refusal to hand over logins or to answer any questions is an automatic offence under the legislation. Medhurst was also denied access to legal advice and even water, and was not permitted to let anyone know where he was until he was eventually released almost twenty-four hours later. He has been charged with ‘holding or expressing an opinion’ supportive of a proscribed group.

A week later, journalist Sarah Wilkinson was arrested as masked officers raided her home in the early hours of the morning. Her devices were removed, she was forced to hand over passwords and police attempted to make her hand over details of her contacts in Palestine, a gross violation of journalistic privilege. She was then bailed under conditions that forbade her to use a mobile phone or computer and was only able to contact her lawyer or let people know what had happened because her adult son – also abused by police during the raid – happened to be staying at the house. On the same day as Wilkinson’s arrest, police arrested and charged Palestine Action co-founder Richard Barnard for supposedly supporting a proscribed group and used the Terrorism Act to arrest seven other Palestine Action activists, abusing the Act’s powers against them before eventually charging them with non-terror offences.

Before them,  Jewish activist Tony Greenstein, journalist Kit Klarenberg and journalist and former ambassador Craig Murray were also targeted for detention, arrest and harassment. Greenstein was told he was arrested for social media comments supporting Palestinian resistance, the right to which is firmly enshrined in international law.

The heads of the National Union of Journalists and International Federation of Journalists issued a statement condemning the UK’s assault on free speech, journalism and democracy.

The right of journalists to be free and safe to report facts without fear or favour, and of citizens to know what their government and others are doing, is vital to any semblance of functioning democracy, which the Starmer police-state regime seems all too happy to destroy.