Philip O’Keeffe, an Irish and US citizen, was arrested by UK counterterrorism police on April 22nd as he attempted to travel to Ireland to deliver the news of his former comrade Finbar Cafferkey’s death to his family.
Mr O’Keeffe was detained for about six hours under section 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000, a wide-ranging piece of legislation that allows police to question travellers without cause to determine if they may be a terrorist.
Mr O’Keeffe refused to hand over the passwords to his devices, leading police to accuse him of obstructing justice and to extend his detention overnight. He was later released on bail pending a decision on whether he should face criminal charges under section 7 of the Act. “They’re not accepting that they’re not entitled to seize phones and laptops,” Mr Lyon said. “It drives a coach and horses through centuries of protection of people’s private lives.”Mr O’Keeffe has been in touch with both the Irish and US embassies seeking assistance.
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