- 12 May 2023 09:24
#15273916
A court in the UK (England) has set a disturbing precedent in a case, which could criminalize mere information about how to make weapons.
This is all part of a wider phenomena of the "criminalization of information".
This also has to with vague laws and how they are interpreted by courts. In my opinion, this is pretty much taking the law and reinterpreting it to make something else criminal that the law did not clearly say was criminal.
The man in question here was sentenced to a "two year suspended sentence", meaning he does not actually have to spend those two years in prison, but only so long as he follows special requirements set by the judge.
In my personal opinion, this is an outrageous infringement on individual rights and the right of free speech.
Ben John had been found guilty of one count of "having in his possession a record of information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism" under Section 58 of the Terrorism Act. A jury found him guilty on August 12, 2021. The man lived in the city of Lincoln in the East Midlands region.
Authorities had seized his computer and found a hard drive containing a radical publication, which had originally circulated in the 70s, which contains diagrams and instructions on how to construct various bombs and explosive booby traps.
But that's probably not the only reason he was arrested. He also had a huge number of documents downloaded onto hard drives which "white supremist" and "anti-Semitic material", as well as material related to a Satanist organisation.
Counter Terrorism Policing East Midlands Detective Inspector James Manning, led the investigation in partnership with regional and national agencies. He said: "This was a young man who could be anyone's son, studying at university, and living one life in public, while conducting another in private. "He possessed a wealth of National Socialist and anti-Semitic material which indicated a fascination and belief in a White Supremacist ideology along with support for an extreme satanic group which is increasingly of concern for law enforcement agencies. The terrorist material he was found in possession of is extremely dangerous, and he acquired this to further his ideology. It indicates the threat that he and other followers of this hateful ideology pose to National Security. It was not light reading, or material most would concern themselves with for legitimate reasons. This has been a long and complex investigation over the course of 11 months."
Convicted terrorist sentenced (lincs.police.uk)
Now, if any of you cannot see the problem with this, imagine at some point in the future, the mere possession of information about how someone could build an illegal gun becomes made illegal. Someone could be arrested simply because they had information on their computer, and for no other reason.
Judge Timothy Spencer told the defendant that he could stay out of prison as long as he reads classic books and plays by Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, William Shakespeare, and Tom Hardy, the Telegraph reported.
"Have you read Dickens? Austen? Start with 'Pride and Prejudice' and Dickens' 'A Tale of Two Cities.' Shakespeare's 'Twelfth Night,'" said Judge Spencer, reported The Telegraph.
I can see why authorities might have considered him a terrorist risk, but so much for individual rights. This individual was arrested for beliefs and having information.
That is getting to be a totalitarian society people are living under.
This is all part of a wider phenomena of the "criminalization of information".
This also has to with vague laws and how they are interpreted by courts. In my opinion, this is pretty much taking the law and reinterpreting it to make something else criminal that the law did not clearly say was criminal.
The man in question here was sentenced to a "two year suspended sentence", meaning he does not actually have to spend those two years in prison, but only so long as he follows special requirements set by the judge.
In my personal opinion, this is an outrageous infringement on individual rights and the right of free speech.
Ben John had been found guilty of one count of "having in his possession a record of information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism" under Section 58 of the Terrorism Act. A jury found him guilty on August 12, 2021. The man lived in the city of Lincoln in the East Midlands region.
Authorities had seized his computer and found a hard drive containing a radical publication, which had originally circulated in the 70s, which contains diagrams and instructions on how to construct various bombs and explosive booby traps.
But that's probably not the only reason he was arrested. He also had a huge number of documents downloaded onto hard drives which "white supremist" and "anti-Semitic material", as well as material related to a Satanist organisation.
Counter Terrorism Policing East Midlands Detective Inspector James Manning, led the investigation in partnership with regional and national agencies. He said: "This was a young man who could be anyone's son, studying at university, and living one life in public, while conducting another in private. "He possessed a wealth of National Socialist and anti-Semitic material which indicated a fascination and belief in a White Supremacist ideology along with support for an extreme satanic group which is increasingly of concern for law enforcement agencies. The terrorist material he was found in possession of is extremely dangerous, and he acquired this to further his ideology. It indicates the threat that he and other followers of this hateful ideology pose to National Security. It was not light reading, or material most would concern themselves with for legitimate reasons. This has been a long and complex investigation over the course of 11 months."
Convicted terrorist sentenced (lincs.police.uk)
Now, if any of you cannot see the problem with this, imagine at some point in the future, the mere possession of information about how someone could build an illegal gun becomes made illegal. Someone could be arrested simply because they had information on their computer, and for no other reason.
Judge Timothy Spencer told the defendant that he could stay out of prison as long as he reads classic books and plays by Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, William Shakespeare, and Tom Hardy, the Telegraph reported.
"Have you read Dickens? Austen? Start with 'Pride and Prejudice' and Dickens' 'A Tale of Two Cities.' Shakespeare's 'Twelfth Night,'" said Judge Spencer, reported The Telegraph.
I can see why authorities might have considered him a terrorist risk, but so much for individual rights. This individual was arrested for beliefs and having information.
That is getting to be a totalitarian society people are living under.
- By wat0n
- By Tainari88
- By Skynet