British Authorities Crackdown On Press Freedom, Arrest Richard Medhurst Under Terrorism Act

The British authorities on Thursday arrested an internationally accredited journalist, Richard Thomas Medhurst, at Heathrow Airport on alleged violation of Section 12 of the UK’s Terrorism Act.

Medhurst disclosed this on Monday as he posted on X recounting the horrible experience meted upon him as a British journalist whose work exposed the UK‘s complicity in the ongoing genocide in the Gaza Strip.

On Thursday, as I landed at London’s Heathrow Airport, I was immediately escorted off the plane by six police officers who were waiting for me at the entrance of the aircraft. They arrested me – not detained – they arrested me under Section 12 of the Terrorism Act of 2000 and accused me of allegedly ‘expressing an opinion or belief that is supportive of a proscribed organisation’ but wouldn’t explain what this meant,” Medhurst says in the video.

Before his arrest, Medhurst had been heavily reporting on the Israeli-Gaza war and had vocally expressed his stance against Ukraine funding by the British government.

Medhurst was arrested and detained for almost 24 hours in solitary confinement, citing that the same Terrorism Act was enforced to arrest him.

I was placed in solitary confinement in a cold cell that smelled like urine. There was barely any light, and the bed, if you can even call it a bed, was simply a small concrete ledge with a paper-thin mattress. The cell had no windows, no heating, and no toilet paper. I was recorded 24/7 with audio and video, even when going to the toilet. I had to eat food with a piece of cardboard you’re supposed to fold in two to scoop up the meal,” Medhurst said, describing the conditions he was in.

With the aggressive deployment of Section 12 of the British Terrorism Act and criminalising journalists who shared critical opinions or beliefs, journalism is now under attack in Keir Starmer’s government.

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Mayowa Durosinmi

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M. Durosinmi is a West Africa Weekly investigative reporter covering Politics, Human Rights, Health, and Security in West Africa and the Sahel Region

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