UK Authorities Detain Glenn Greenwald's Partner For 9 Hours, Seize Electronics

The partner of journalist Glenn Greenwald was detained for nine hours by authorities at London's Heathrow Airport while transiting from Berlin to his home of Rio de Janeiro, The Guardian is reporting.

Officials stopped David Miranda, who lives with Greenwald in Rio, and questioned him under the controversial "Schedule 7" law in the UK. Authorities can use the law — which only applies at ports, airports, and border areas — to stop, question, search, and detain individuals under the country's Terrorism Act.

With a trove of documents about surveillance programs leaked from ex-NSA contractor Edward Snowden, Greenwald and documentary filmmaker Laura Poitras have brought considerable embarrassment to both the U.S. and U.K. governments with revelations the NSA and Britain's GCHQ have been spying on ordinary citizens.

Writing about the incident, Greenwald called it "a failed attempt at intimidation.":

At the time the "security official" called me, David had been detained for 3 hours. The security official told me that they had the right to detain him for up to 9 hours in order to question him, at which point they could either arrest and charge him or ask a court to extend the question time. The official - who refused to give his name but would only identify himself by his number: 203654 - said David was not allowed to have a lawyer present, nor would they allow me to talk to him.

As Greenwald points out, instead of being asked about terrorism, Miranda was apparently grilled over Greenwald's reporting on surveillance and his work with Poitras, who he had been visiting with in Berlin.

London's Metropolitan Police Service released the following statement: “Holding and properly using intelligence gained from such stops is a key part of fighting crime, pursuing offenders and protecting the public," according to The New York Times,

Although he was released without charge, authorities confiscated his electronics, including a laptop, memory sticks, his camera, and cell phone.