Filmmaker Laura Poitras Sues US Over 'Kafkaesque' Harassment
Lawsuit requests records from intelligence agencies that have unlawfully detained, searched, and interrogated Citizenfour director for six years
by
Nadia Prupis
http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/07/14/filmmaker-laura-poitras-sues-us-over-kafkaesque-harassment
"I'm filing this lawsuit because the government uses the U.S. border to bypass the rule of law," Poitras said. "This simply should not be tolerated in a democracy. I am also filing this suit in support of the countless other less high-profile people who have also been subjected to years of Kafkaesque harassment at the borders. We have a right to know how this system works and why we are targeted."
Poitras has spoken openly about her harassment at U.S. borders, which included reportedly being placed on the government's No Fly List after returning home from filming My Country, My Country, a 2006 documentary which profiled Iraqi critics of the U.S. occupation.
She has also had her laptop, camera, mobile phone, and reporter notebooks seized and their contents copied, according to the suit. On one occasion, Poitras was allegedly threatened with handcuffing for taking notes during her detention, as border agents said her pen could be used as a weapon.
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EFF attorney Jamie Lee Williams added: "We are suing the government to force it to disclose any records that would show why security officials targeted Poitras for six years, even though she had no criminal record and there was no indication that she posed any security risk. By spurning Poitras’ FOIA requests, the government leaves the impression that her detentions were a form of retaliation and harassment of a journalist whose work has focused on U.S. policy in the post-9/11 world."
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Well worth the time for the quick read. So much freedom sacrificed to the empire.
= new reply since forum marked as read
