A Terrorism Case in Britain Ends in Acquittal, but No One Can Say Why
▻http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/26/world/europe/a-terrorism-case-in-britain-ends-in-acquittal-but-no-one-can-say-why.html
Ian Cobain, a reporter with The Guardian, is one of very few people who know why a student arrested by armed British police officers in 2013 was finally acquitted this year of terrorism charges.
Problem is, he cannot report what he knows. He was allowed to observe much of the trial, but only under strict conditions intended to keep classified material secret. His notebooks are being held by Britain’s domestic intelligence agency. And if he writes — or even talks — about the reason that the student, Erol Incedal, 27, was acquitted, Mr. Cobain faces prosecution and possibly jail.
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“Not even the Russians do that to journalists,” Mr. Cobain said, speaking recently in the cafe of the Royal Courts of Justice in London.
The case is among the latest to highlight the growing debate about the proper balance between civil liberties and national security in the age of terrorism.