"Bas les pattes" d'Indymedia aux autorités US, Anglaises, Suisses et Italiennes
Maxime 12 Oct 2004 09:49 GMT (traduit par Maxime)Les preuves s'accumulent que les autorités d'au moins quatre pays (la Suisse, l'Italie, le Royaume-Uni et les USA) sont impliquées dans la saisie la semaine dernière de deux serveurs d'Indymedia, interrompant le fonctionnement de plus de 20 sites du réseau Indymedia et de plusieurs flux de radios en ligne. Indymedia n'a toujours pas reçu de déclaration formelle ni d'information concernant les implications ou les causes de cette action.
Un porte-parole du FBI, Joe Parris, a confirmé à l'Agence France-Presse que le FBI a transmis une citation à l'hébergeur des serveurs d'Indymedia au Royaume-Uni, mais qu'il avait agi "sur la demande d'un pays tiers" (1). Daniel Zapelli, procureur général de Genève (Suisse), a confirmé qu'il a ouvert une enquête sur la couverture par Indymedia du sommet du G8 à Evian en 2003 (2). Zapelli fournira les détails de cette enquête lors d'une conférence de presse mardi.
Le procureur général de Bologne (Italie), Marina Plazzi, a déclaré qu'elle enquête sur Indymedia Italie car il pourrait "soutenir le terrorisme" (3). Plazzi indique qu'elle fournira plus d'informations jeudi 14 Octobre.
Cependant, des associations internationales de journalistes sont venues à la rescousse d'Indymedia. "Nous venons d'assister à une opération de police internationale intolérable et intrusive contre un réseau spécialisé dans le journalisme indépendant", a déclaré Aidan White, secrétaire général de l'IFJ (4).
Indymedia est en contact avec l'Electronic Frontier Foundation à propos des moyens de récupérer ses serveurs, et d'éviter d'autres attaques contre la liberté d'expression de la part des gouvernements. "L'EFF est très préoccupée par les implications graves de cette saisie en ce qui concerne la liberté d'expression et les atteintes à la vie privée, et nous explorons tous les moyens de faire prendre ses responsabilités au gouvernement responsable de ce muselage impropre et inconstitutionnel des médias indépendants", a déclaré l'avocat de l'EFF Kurt Opsahl (5).
Lundi 11 Octobre, cinq des sites web affectés ont été restaurés, comprenant Brésil, Euskal Herria, Pologne, Royaume-Uni et Nice. Les volontaires d'Indymedia travaillent d'arrache-pied pour restaurer les sites restants, néanmoins au moins quatre d'entre eux - Uruguay, Italie, Western Massachusetts et Nantes - ont subi des pertes de données suite à l'action des gouvernements.
"Cette opération du FBI nous donne encore plus de raisons de continuer ce que nous faisons depuis plusieurs années", déclare un activiste d'Indymedia Italie.
"L'Uruguay a une longue histoire de répression des médias. Nous n'avons pas les moyens de payer l'hébergement web, donc nous comptons sur la solidarité d'autres pays. Des actions comme la saisie des serveurs rendent le monde moins sûr pour les médias libres", déclare Libertinus, un volontaire d'Indymedia Uruguay, un des nombreux sites d'Indymedia qui ont été victimes innocentes des actions du FBI. "Les élections nationales en Uruguay vont avoir lieu le 31 Octobre. Ce n'est pas le bon moment pour que celà nous arrive".
Pour plus d'information, voir www.indymedia.org/en/static/fbi, e-mail press(a)indymedia.org , Tommaso au +39-3383903806, Hep Sano au +1-415-867-9472 (San Francisco), ou David Meieran au 1-412-996-4986 (Pittsburgh).
(1) Le 7 Octobre 2004, Rackspace, hébergeur web basé à San Antonio (E-U), a livré deux serveurs de sa filiale de Londres après avoir été notifié d'une décision de justice basée sur le Traité d'Assistance Légale Mutuelle. La direction de Rackspace prétendent que l'injonction leur interdit de révéler les raisons de la saisie, et à qui les serveurs ont été remis. Ils nt déclaré "Rackspace agit en bonne entreprise citoyenne et coopère avec les autorités de justice internationales". Voir les détails sur www.indymedia.org/fbi et dans les communiqués de presse des 8 et 9 Octobre : 
http://www.indymedia.org/en/2004/10/111999.shtml et http://www.indymedia.org/en/2004/10/112047.shtml
(2) Pour d'autres exemples : http://www.indymedia.org/en/static/fbi.shtml
(3) Dépèche AFP : http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1509&ncid=738&e=6&u=/afp/20041008/tc_afp/us_internet_justice
(4) International Federation of Jounalists: http://www.ifj.org/default.asp?Index=2734&Language=EN
(5) Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF): http://eff.org/
My support for you people!
Alex 11.Oct.2004 21:13
Once again the government strikes, once again the victim is an honest association trying to improve the world. It's incredible that people still keep on making apologies for this system. It's incredible that people still think this world is gonna sort out itself.
Solidarity,
Alex
Perspective
@ 12.Oct.2004 00:31
Let's compare the FBI's handling of this with a similar case in which "national security" is the purported issue. Specifically the jailing of NY Times reporter Judith Miller. What if the FBI had seized the NY Times web servers in the course of its investigation? Such a move would be denounced as an outrage! Yet the NY Times, which is bending over to protect Miller (who uncritically passed on bogus intelligence from the Bush administration as "news"), doesn't even have the courage to report on this story which is now several days old.
How might such an investigation be handled if the NY Times news servers were to be investigated? A simple subpoena demanding copies of the NY Times' web servers would be sufficient to conduct such an investigation, and not a heavy-handed approach resulting in indeterminate censorship of unrelated news stories. The seizure of the entire server, and the violation of the speech and press rights of people in over a dozen countries, is a completely unacceptable attack on the media from a shady international police state, enacted under dubious legal treaties, has so far provided no legal recourse for Indymedia.
A suggestion for Indymedia while pursuing legal action to recover their stolen news servers. When writing to Rackspace, the FBI, member of UK Parliament, and the Swiss and Italian authorities who requested this seizure--end all correspondence and complaints with the following legal warning (which should be included in any legal claim):
"Damages for all items continue to accrue."
Italian Neo Fascists Behind Seizure of Indymedia Servers?
Damiano Valgolio (repost) 12.Oct.2004 01:12
This is an article from german leftist newspaper "Junge Welt" ("Young World"), published Oct 11th, 2004
written by Damiano Valgolio, Rome (Italy).
The Censorers Trace leads to Rome and Zurich
Cutoff of Indymedia: FBI agent speaks of "legal aid". Investigations against the internet portal running in Switzerland and Italy. Neo fascists said to be the driving force.
Three days after central servers of international news portal indymedia have been seized, the background remains obscure. It seems, however, that criminal proceedings against media activists in Italy and Switzerland are the cause for the cloak-and-dagger operation. Past thursday night, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had ordered confiscation of host systems of internet provider Rackspace in San Antonio, Texas (USA) and London (UK). Along these, dozens of national Indymedia pages were connected. Since then the leftist online media is severely handicapped across about 20 countries world-wide. In many countries, amongst which are Italy and Great Britain, Indymedia has completely vanished from the internet.
Last weekend, the FBI has again announced that the seizure was not done on their own initiative but carried out within the scope of a "legal aid" for foreign authorities. "The request came from Switzerland and Italy", senior FBI offical Joe Parris stated towards french news agency AFP.
Meanwhile, Switzerland is maintaining a low profile. Daniel Zapelli, senior federal prosecutor of the Genf canton, only confirmed that ascertainments against Indymedia. It is intended to criminalize the coverage in connection with the protests against the G8 meeting in Evian in summer of 2003.
Back then, images of two plainclothes policemen who were involved in a media center escalade had been published on the swiss spin-off of the leftist internet platform. Of both executives, who were said to have organized riots as agent provocateurs in the city center of Geneve, names and addresses were published, too. Marc Olderlin, the attorney of the two swiss members of the secret police, acknowledged contacts between swiss federal authorities and the FBI, reports italian newspaper "Il Manifesto". "But, as far as I know, there has not been a request for detention of the Indymedia servers", the lawyer says.
Meanwhile, federal prosecutor of Bologna (IT) Marina Plazzi stated that she is investigating against Indymedia because of a possible "support of terrorism". Apparently this is about supposedly positive contributions after an impact on italian soldiers in iraqi city of Nassirija past november. "We asked the FBI for help along the italian department of justice", federal prosecutor Plazzi states. The italian minister of justice, Roberto Castelli, so far refused to speak out on the proceeding of the FBI.
Clearly less reticiant are the parlamentarian representatives of the italian government parties. On sunday, Mario Landolfi, spokesman of post fascist "Aleanza Nazionale" (AN), announced the seizure of the computers served "the enforcement of the law". Already in november, 17 AN delegates including the granddaugther of Benito Mussolini had demanded the close-down of Indymedia in a consolidated statement. Back then, Paolo Valentino, state secretary in the department of justice and also a member of AN, had announced a possible cooperation with the USA.
In contrary, severe criticism on the repression against the leftist internet portal rooted from the italian opposition. Left wing party member and assitant chairman of the commission of justice of the italian parliament Paolo Cento spoke of a "bad , authoritarian incident" and demanded an immediate comment of the government. Meanwhile, communist E.U. (European Union) delegate Marco Rizzo announced he will add the incident to the EU parliament agenda.
Portugal - Indymedia back on!
RJA 12.Oct.2004 01:37
portugal.indymedia.org
Portugal - Indymedia has came back 1 or 2 days ago. Still trying to correct all of the links, but the site is fully functional. Thought I should warn you guys.
Cheers,
RJA, PT-Indy Volunteer.
add to previous comment
RJA 12.Oct.2004 01:51
Should add, that it's the work of ALL the volunteers, and specially our "tecnician" ;). (just read my post and it seemed as if I did the thing... ugh. Must get some sleep :P)
On the Italian angle
fulanix 12.Oct.2004 12:46
There's more here in Spanish / Más aquí en español:
http://canarias.indymedia.org/newswire/display/8530/index.php
http://www.indybay.org/news/2004/10/1698775.php
http://italy.indymedia.org/news/2004/10/660960.php
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1324244,00.html). An order MLAT is a new fast route of judicial cooperation (that some consider ' extrajudicial enough ') between the U.S.A. and certain signatory countries of the corresponding treaty in matería of investigations related to the international terrorism, kidnapping and money laundering. Resemblances you order must happen through the ministries designated in each country, but until the Italian minister of justice Robeto Castelli has not wanted now to make declarations (either the holder of the Dept. of Justice of the U.S.A., John Ashcroft, nor the one of the Home British Office, David Blunkett).
Google translation:
- The subject of the Swiss photos now seems less important. The general prosecutor of the corner of Geneva, Daniel Zapelli has confirmed who has opened to diligences... but the lawyer of the photographed people, Marc Oelderlin, has said that they have not asked for the kidnapping of any servant (on the other hand logical - they only looked for the definitive suppression of photos and certain supposed text). Sight ej. newswire of indybay
Recent Italian tracks that seem enough firm has been leading to us for another type of land. A land much more politician, a subject of freedom of expression.
Here we have a political party of extreme right, a part of the coalition in the present Italian government, Alleanza Nacionale (AN), (the party of Fini and the Mussolini) that takes to long time protesting the suppression of indymedia Italy by the publication of commentaries in relation to the presence and the behavior of Italian troops in Iraq (and especificamente in Nasiriya in November of the last year) that described like as ' support to terroristas'.
These sources assure us that the general prosecutor of Bologna that takes the case denounced by AN in last November, Marine Plazzi, "requested attendance to the FBI by means of the Italian ministry of justice." Ref
Such request will be had, then, materialized in the order MLAT to which Rackspace talks about when it felt forced to yield both servants of London (it does not even know if to agents of the FBI or British, although the Scotland Yard says not to know to anything -
Up to here, it is possible to be understood that there is past, although without agreeing. Political-judicial an Italian denunciation invoking the magical word "terrorism" gives rise to the kidnapping judicial of the servant of indymedia Italy. One assumes that the judicial process in Bologna will be opened, and that will be justice. But above we must try to understand how it was possible that, with such order MLAT soliciing determined data of indymedia Italy, they have been able to take the servants (the software and the data bases) of a twenty of indymedias more, including one of mismisimas the U.S.A. (Western Massachusetts), and of other projects completely other people's to indymedia, harming of very serious form his fundamental rights.
It can have been a simple error (and no longer they know that to do). The activist of indymedia Seattle that received a visitación of agents of the FBI in relation to the Swiss case says that they seemed nor knowledge that was a URL (it will be possible).
Or he can that some ambitious control in the political part of route MLAT, in Rome or London or Washington, saw an opportunity to press to all the global network of indymedia and pressed. An effect blow, a warning, we go.
A decision very little justifiable that has dot to finish in the courts and the American light of the publicity. Surely that committed an error.
A trickle of new information
@ 13.Oct.2004 01:12
See "Information highway Robbery" from the Tuesday, Oct. 12 blog:
http://www.villagevoice.com/blogs/bushbeat/
http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=11579
http://www.mytech.it/mytech/news/articolo?ix=A006012004695
http://www.google.com/language_tools?hl=en
On a more positive note, Reporters Without Borders has issued a letter of support for Indymedia:
This article (in Italian) names Enrico Di Nicola as the prosecutor of Bologna, Italy behind the server seizure:
Seems the Italian neo-facists couldn't take the criticism of their occupation troops, following a massacre of civilians in Iraq. It seems criticism of an illegal occupation constitutes, ahem, "terrorism."
A very poor translation of the Italian article can be generated from the URL above here:
Boycott Rackspace
anonymous 14.Oct.2004 18:05
www.BoycottRackspace.com