A French publisher was arrested under the Terrorism Act as he arrived in the UK to attend the London Book Fair, his employer said.
Ernest Moret, who works as a foreign rights manager for the radical left-wing Editions La Fabrique, was detained by police after arriving from Paris at St Pancras railway station on Monday evening.
Two British police officers said Ernest had participated in anti-government demonstrations in France and detained him for questioning for suspected terror offences, his employer said.
The London Metropolitan Police said Moret was stopped by officers under the Terrorism Act and was arrested after he obstructed a police search.
Supporters have called for protests at the French Institute in London and the British embassy in Paris on Tuesday evening.
Anglo-French ‘Complicity’
In a joint statement with Verso Books, a radical left-wing publishing house with offices in London and New York, Moret’s employer said: “On arrival at St Pancras Station, Ernest was pulled aside by police officers acting under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000 and detained for questioning without a lawyer present, allegedly to determine whether he was engaged in terrorist acts or in possession of material for use in terrorism.“The police officers claimed that Ernest had participated in demonstrations in France as a justification for this act—a quite remarkably inappropriate statement for a British police officer to make and which seems to clearly indicate complicity between French and British authorities on this matter.
“It was demanded that he give up his phone and pass codes to the officers, with no justification or explanation offered. This morning, Ernest was formally arrested and transferred to a police station, accused of obstruction because of his refusal to give up his pass codes. He remains in police custody.
“We consider these actions to be outrageous and unjustifiable infringements of basic principles of the freedom of expression and an example of the abuse of anti-terrorism laws.
“We consider that this assault on the freedom of expression of a publisher is yet another manifestation of the slide towards repressive and authoritarian measures taken by the current French government in the face of widespread popular discontent and protest.
‘Extraordinary’
A protest will take place at the French Institute in South Kensington at 7 p.m., when people will call for French Ambassador Helene Duchene to request Moret’s release.The National Union of Journalists’ senior books and magazines organiser Pamela Morton urged members to join the protest and said: “It seems extraordinary that the British police have acted this way in using terrorism legislation to arrest the publisher who was on legitimate business here for the London Book Fair.”
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: “At around 1930hrs on Monday April 17, a 28-year-old man was stopped by ports officers as he arrived at St Pancras station, using powers under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000.
“On Tuesday April 18, the man was subsequently arrested on suspicion of wilfully obstructing a Schedule 7 examination (contrary to section 18 of the Terrorism Act 2000). The man remains in custody.
French Pension Protests
Protests against the flagship reform of President Emmanuel Macron’s second term, which raises the retirement age from 62 to 64, began in mid-January and have coalesced widespread anger against the president.The street protests have become increasingly violent since the government pushed the pension legislation through parliament without a final vote due to a lack of support among lawmakers.
Union leaders and protesters said the only way out of the crisis was for the legislation to be scrapped, an option that the government has repeatedly rejected.
Macron said Monday that he heard people’s anger, but insisted that it was needed to keep the pension system afloat as the population ages.
In his speech, Macron said “these changes were needed to guarantee everyone’s pension,” after he enacted the law on Saturday. “They represent an effort, that’s true.”
“Gradually working more means also producing more wealth for our whole country,” he added.
He announced negotiations in the coming months about “key issues” like improving employees’ income, pushing professional careers forward, better wealth-sharing, and improving working conditions, including for older workers.
Labor unions that have been at the forefront of protests, mobilizing millions of marchers in 12 days of nationwide demonstrations and strikes since January, are vowing to fight on. They called for another mass protest on May 1, which is International Workers’ Day.
