This week, Craig Murray – journalist and human rights activist – announced he had left the UK amidst the arrests of several high profile journalists who have been reporting on Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
Craig Murray leaves UK
As Jonathan Cook pointed out on X, once upon a time this would have been a breaking news story:
If I recall rightly, in the old days, when I was a young journalist, this would have been considered quite a news story:
Former British ambassador flees UK for fear of arrest over political views.
But maybe my memory is fading, and this was always seen as quite normal. https://t.co/1e6oXdj5o2
— Jonathan Cook (@Jonathan_K_Cook) September 9, 2024
A wave of arrests and intimidation of journalists in the UK has resulted in at least one independent writer, a former UK ambassador no less, to flee the country.
Follow and read @CraigMurrayOrg #censorship #freespeech https://t.co/o1YvKACYVM pic.twitter.com/NbmYV1n9l5
— Peter Cronau (@PeterCronau) September 10, 2024
Setting a precedent
Craig Murray is also the former British ambassador to Uzbekistan. During his time in the role, he exposed the human rights violations in the country by the at-the-time administration. Last year, British police detained Murray under counter-terrorism laws for declaring his support for Palestine whilst condemning Israel’s actions.
In the last few weeks, British police have also arrested two high profile British journalists. They detained both Sarah Wilkinson and Richard Medhurst under Section 12 of the Terrorism Act 2000. This is all pretty funny when you consider the controversy over free speech in Rwanda:
A former British ambassador who made remarks about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has fled the UK in fear of arrest. This reminds the debate in the UK over the transfer of immigrants to Rwanda and their safety and free speech in Rwanda!
Now the question is: is the UK safe? 🤣 https://t.co/8nIX8sW0co
— Mushimire Olivier (@OliverMushimire) September 10, 2024
The UK is a fascist regime https://t.co/ZTuErrdaiD
— Peter Sberg 🦍 ☀ 🦍 ☀ 🤍💙❤ 🇨🇳 (@PeterSberguson) September 10, 2024
First, Richard Medhurst, an independent journalist, was detained at Heathrow airport for 24 hours – which he believes was for his reporting on Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
Then, as the Canary previously reported on 29 August counter-terror police also arrested Sarah Wilkinson over content she posted online. Whilst they have now released her on bail, the conditions are that she uses no electronic devices. Both of these are clear breaches of journalistic freedom:
Isn’t it ironic that people have to leave “one of the oldest and most important democracies” in the world in fear of being arrested for protesting and disagreeing with the government? Couldn’t make this up even if I tried very, very hard.
— MsEmi₿ (@emylacapra) September 9, 2024
Absolutely astonishing that a former UK AMBASSADOR should ever need to leave Britain for fear of being re-arrested WHEN HE HAS DONE NOTHING WRONG EXCEPT TELL THE TRUTH!
People need to wake up to what’s happening, quick smart! C21st #FASCISM is fundamentally the same as WW2.
— Jaraparilla 🇾🇪 🇵🇸 All ziønists are terrørists (@jaraparilla) September 9, 2024
Bigger picture
Recently, the UK government has been doing everything it can to repress pro-Palestinian voices. This fits into the much broader attempts by the state to silence anyone speaking up for Palestine – whether it be protesters, or members of the independent press:
Repression of pro Palestine voices is so strong that a former UK ambassador does not feel safe in his own country https://t.co/PpmYrYQKAc
— Paul Cockshott (@PaulCockshott) September 9, 2024
The UK has turned into an authoritarian regime.
— BanuYafran (@BanuYafran) September 10, 2024
None of this is remotely surprising given the UK governments ties to Israel – a genocidal, apartheid state. Given the repeated arrests of people speaking out against genocide, there is no wonder Craig Murray decided to flee the UK. Nonetheless, it’s incredibly alarming – and also signals the dire state of the UK’s so-called free press – which recent arrests have proven over and over are a sham.
Feature image via Consortium News/Youtube
