Austrian authorities have joined in the harassment of independent journalist Richard Medhurst in connection to his criticism of Israel’s genocide in Gaza. He explained on 6 February:
I was detained this week by the Austrian police and intelligence services.
They raided my house, office, and took all my devices.
They are accusing me of being a member of Hamas and threatened me with 10 years in prison.
I was detained this week by the Austrian police and intelligence services.
They raided my house, office, and took all my devices.
They are accusing me of being a member of Hamas and threatened me with 10 years in prison.
Journalism is not a crime. pic.twitter.com/gztm4bmLuY
— Richard Medhurst (@richimedhurst) February 6, 2025
Richard Medhurst: detained once again
In 2024, the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) expressed “their grave concern on the apparent mis-use of anti-terror legislation and consequential undermining of media freedom in the wake of the arrest of NUJ and IFJ member Richard Medhurst on 15 August upon his arrival at London Heathrow Airport”.
As the NUJ’s Michelle Stanistreet and the IFJ’s Anthony Bellanger said:
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. Both the NUJ and IFJ are shocked at the increased use of terrorism legislation by the British police in this manner.
Medhurst categorically denies the allegations. And he believes Austria’s persecution this week was “related to the case in Britain” and being “coordinated with Britain”. As he stressed:
This is insane. This is disproportionate state violence. And it’s not just an attack on me. This is an attack on the entire profession, on freedom of speech, on democracy itself.
Medhurst was also detained last year. On Thursday 15 August 2024, 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 was 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.
Not the last
Richard Medhurst said that:
I believe this was done to try and rattle me psychologically. That failed.
He is not the first – nor will he be the last – journalist to experience this:
Not a single word on Richard Medhurst, Asa Winstanley, Sarah Wilkinson in a UK newspaper either.
I find this more scary than the arrests themselves.
The public realm in Europe lies undefended. The media and civil society has been captured. https://t.co/acpXr3pCzn
— Matt Kennard (@kennardmatt) January 27, 2025
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.
It seems that in 2025, independent journalists are still not safe – whatever country they are in.
Featured image via screengrab
