Charges of thinking about a terrorist attack, without any evidence of ever having communicated such a thought to anybody, is going several steps too far.
Iran’s embassy in London. (Paasikivi / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0)
By Craig Murray
CraigMurray.org.uk
Imagine my hilarity when the front page headline about a new “Iranian plot,” trailed by MI5 as involving weapons stores, attacks on the Israeli embassy and on Whitehall, turned out to be yet another faked “surveillance operation” against Iran International, the “media company” that is dodgier than Al Capone’s accountant.
The BBC still made it the second item on last Saturday’s main news, as “Iranian Terror Plot discovered.” Three men have been charged and remanded on bail before a hearing at the Old Bailey on June 6.
This is another exercise of the U.K.’s draconian new legislation, the openly fascist National Security Act 2023, where it is an offence to gather information, whether classified or not, as “engaging in conduct likely to assist a foreign intelligence service.”
This is an incredibly low bar — prosecutors don’t have to prove there is any actual contact with a hostile power. So if you take a photo of Downing Street [the prime minister’s office and residence in London], as many tourists do, that can be an offence as it could be “useful” to non-existent “Iranian terrorists” or others. We already have one person in jail for taking photos of Iran International despite absolutely zero evidence that he had ever had any kind of contact with Iran.
[See: Craig Murray: UK Intel’s Fake Terror Plots]
One man – Mostafa Sepahvand – is also charged with “open source research” with a view to committing violence. Again the bar is incredibly low: no evidence of actual plans to commit violence are required.
Personally, I have difficulty with imprisoning people before they commit a crime on the basis that they might be going to. This kind of prevention certainly works, in a sense. If you locked up the entire population, for example, there would undoubtedly be no crime committed, except for crimes committed in prison.
But I find charges of thinking about a terrorist attack, without any evidence of ever having communicated such a thought to anybody, a large number of steps too far.
Please read my last article which went into MI5’s Iran International scam in depth. An “Iranian terrorism in the UK” narrative is being created to justify U.K. involvement in a U.S./Israeli attack on Iran. I did not expect MI5 immediately to pull the same scam again.
Craig Murray is an author, broadcaster and human rights activist. He was British ambassador to Uzbekistan from August 2002 to October 2004 and rector of the University of Dundee from 2007 to 2010. His coverage is entirely dependent on reader support. Subscriptions to keep this blog going are gratefully received.
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Monarchy has always been an Authoritarian form of government.
I’ve been to Iran where the people are welcoming, friendly, warm, and peaceful by nature. They are worried about the US and Israel, with good reason. Just returned from China where they have more freedom than the US, Israel, the UK and others who bow to US demands. Both Iran and China, like Russia, seek peace, not war. Unfortunately, the US will destroy the world with nuclear weapons because Trump, who doesn’t read, is surrounded by war mongers who lie to him, as Steve Miller did when Trump asked him what the Supreme Court decides when the Court said “due process” must be observed. [Rubio is gun-ho to attack Cuba who is superior to the US, having excellent healthcare for all which this huge rich country can’t accomplish.] Trump, though this began with Biden, is dismantling the First Amendment and thinks the Constitution doesn’t apply to him. BTW, in Iran, Russia, Cuba, China and Palestine I could take any pictures I wanted. Thank god for reporters like Craig Murray. Without them, most would live in ignorance.
This article raises serious concerns about the UK government and MI5 using exaggerated or even fabricated “Iranian terror plots” to justify harsh laws like the National Security Act 2023. The law criminalizes basic actions — like taking photos of public buildings or doing online research — without needing real evidence of wrongdoing.
Craig Murray argues this isn’t about security, but control — creating a climate of fear to push political agendas, like supporting a potential UK role in a U.S./Israeli attack on Iran. Charging people for thoughts or curiosity, rather than actual crimes, is a dangerous step toward authoritarianism.
In short: when looking becomes a crime and suspicion replaces proof, democracy is in trouble.
Brave new world, and 1984 spring to mind. How prescient they were, especially George Orwell. We now have the Ministry of Truth, particularly in America with trump’s Truth website, Fox news , Breitbart et al.
BRICS and bombing Iran are likely the real subjects.
Thank you good sir, for maintaining journalistic proper perspective…when so little is found
in what has become of mainstream media, and as said “media” rushes to reverse selves to catch up
with populations having turned against obvious manipulative bloviation.