PGHIMC - Pittsburgh Independent Media Center

US Government tries to keep Indymedia seizure order secret
by david Thursday, Nov. 11, 2004 at 9:58 AM

US Government response points to Italy and a "criminal terrorism investigation"

Yesterday, November 9, the U.S. government responded to the Electronic Frontier Foundation's (EFF) Motion to Unseal the court order that led to the seizure of two hard drives that hosted more than 20 Indymedia websites. The government claims that the order to Rackspace should remain secret because: (1) EFF and their Indymedia clients lacked "standing" (the legal right to initiate a claim) to contest the seizure, (2) the request came from a unnamed foreign government pursuant to a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT), and therefore was not subject to the protections of the Bill of Rights; and (3) disclosure would imperil "an ongoing criminal terrorism investigation." EFF intends to oppose these arguments and will file a legal brief responding to the government's letter.

The government response also contains details suggesting that the order may have originated in Italy. While the government refuses to identify which government prompted the court order, the letter cites language from "Article 8" that corresponds to Italy's MLAT and not to Switzerland's. (As reported earlier, Italy and Switzerland are the two prime suspects.)

Meanwhile, more than 10,000 individuals have signed the Indymedia solidarity statement and at least 17 of the downed websites are back up and running.

[ previous feature | EFF motion | EFF blog | US government response | solidarity statement ]

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