Published on Sunday, October 10, 2004 by Inter Press Service
Alternative Network's Internet Servers Confiscated
by Stefania Milan
LONDON - Agents from the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on
Thursday seized two Internet servers in Britain that host the web sites of
the global news network Indymedia. Two days later there was still no
clarification of why the computers were confiscated or who is holding them.
The confiscation came just days before the European Social Forum, the
region's major civil society gathering, in which Indymedia is to have strong
presence.
Indymedia – as the Independent Media Centres are known – is a network of
more than 140 national and thematic ''open-publishing'' web sites where
independent activists or journalists can publish their news articles,
stories and other material online, with no editorial filter.
Created in 1999 to report on the protests against the World Trade
Organisation's ministerial conference in the U.S. city of Seattle, Indymedia
has since become the main news source of the anti-globalisation movement,
continuing to serve as an alternative to mainstream media outlets worldwide.
The two servers seized on Thursday were located in the London offices of the
U.S.-based company Rackspace, one of the network's hosting providers. On
Saturday it was not yet clear why the computer hardware had been seized or
who is now holding it.
More than 20 national web sites – some of the countries affected are
Uruguay, France, Italy, Brazil, England and Germany – were out of service
for at least 24 hours.
Most of those sites have been reinstated using substitute Internet servers
– but Indymedia activists fear that a great deal of digital material may
have been lost.
The seizure came just one week before the start of the third edition of the
European Social Forum (ESF) in London, Oct. 15-17.
In parallel to the ESF, Indymedia promoted a four-day event on
''communication rights and tactical media production'' in collaboration with
other organisations such as the Association for Progressive Communication
and the World Association of Christian Communications.
''This attack against Indymedia is an affront to communication rights and
the right to privacy,'' said an Indymedia activist organising the European
Forum on Communication Rights, in London Oct. 14.
''Rackspace UK complied with a legal order,'' the company declared in a
statement, saying that it ''is acting as a good corporate citizen and is
cooperating with international law enforcement authorities.'' The company
did not provide any more details.
''It is not an FBI operation. Through a legal assistance treaty, the
subpoena was on behalf of a third country,'' FBI spokesman Joe Parris told
Agence France-Presse.
Apparently, the request for the FBI action was submitted by government
agencies in Switzerland and Italy. The FBI acted in compliance with the
Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT).
The MLAT establishes procedures for signatory countries to collaborate in
investigations regarding international terrorism, kidnapping and money
laundering.
''But these allegations have no relation with Indymedia activities,'' an
Indymedia activist who preferred to remain anonymous told IPS.
''We do not understand why the FBI has acted against Indymedia, which is an
open communication project organised through public meetings and mailing
lists. We think there must be some hidden reason behind,'' said the
activist.
The seizure triggered strong reactions by many civil society groups around
the world.
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) called for an
investigation into the ''intolerable and intrusive'' action that silenced
the web sites.
''More intimidation than crime-busting,'' IFJ general-secretary Aidan White
said. ''The seizing of computers and the high profile nature of this
incident suggests that someone wanted to stifle these independent voices in
journalism.''
According to the IFJ, the confiscation might be related to a court case
heard Sep. 30 in the U.S. city of San Jose, California, against some
Indymedia activists who denounced the web-based flaws in the electronic
voting machines to be used in the Nov. 2 U..S. presidential election.
But it is not the first time that Indymedia has suffered such attacks. A
month ago the FBI asked Indymedia to take down a photo of undercover Swiss
police published on the Indymedia Nantes (France) site.
Indymedia was attacked during the protests against the meeting of the
world's eight richest countries (G8) in Genoa, in July 2001, when the
Italian riot police damaged its media centre.
''In the seized servers there were all the information related to Genoa
events. We are very worried,'' Laura Tartarini from the Genoa Legal Forum
said. The Legal Forum is the group of lawyers set up before the G8 meeting
to deal with legal consequences of the protests.
Together with the Legal Forum, some Italian Indymedia activists are
currently examining the videos recorded during the protests to help those
activists accused of vandalism now being processed in Genoa court.
''Ironically this violation of the freedom of speech comes while the United
Nations World Summit on the Information Society, begun in 2003 in Geneva and
to be concluded in Tunis in 2005, is still ongoing,'' said Italian senator
Fiorello Cortiana.
Indymedia Alternative Network's Internet Servers Confiscated
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Type: discussion