The judge recognized the use of encrypted mail service a sign of terrorism

Spanish judge Javier Gomez Bermudez acknowledged the use of the Riseup encrypted mail service by a group of Spanish activists and their possession of the book Against Democracy (Contra la democràcia) as a sign that this group is engaged in terrorist activities. As a result, in the course of Operation Pandora at the end of December 2014, more than 400 police officers raided 14 private houses and public centers in Spain, which resulted in the arrest of 11 people. Of these, four were released, and seven were imprisoned on charges of "unspecified terrorist activities." This led to thousands of protest marches . The situation covers the publication NetworkWorld .

Indicative is the fact that the so-called "terrorists" did not kill anyone, did not blow up anything, and in general did not threaten anyone. All that they are guilty of before the law is the possession of certain printed publications and the use of encrypted means for communication. There are unproved allegations of a possible association of activists with ATM blasts in 2012 and 2013, but the judge explained his decision by saying that he was interested not in the association of the explosions with the explosions, but in investigating the activities of this group based on the possible harm it could cause. the future. In other words, preventive justice has happened.


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In addition to the current economic crisis, Spain is reeling a growing movement for the separation of Catalonia (the referendum on this issue was canceled, but 80% of the population of the autonomous region were in favor of separation according to the polls), and continuing problems from Basque nationalists. Perhaps it is precisely these problems that force security agencies to apply tough measures in such cases.

All this is happening against the background of statements by the European Parliament based on the disclosed facts of surveillance, organized by the NSA, that "privacy is not a luxury, but a basic right in a free and democratic society." The Riseup service, which provides users with encrypted mail (currently registering on invites), in turn, published in his blog an article entitled “ Security is not a crime ”: “We deny such Kafkian criminalization of social movements, as well as ridiculous and extremely the alarming conclusion that concern for one’s own privacy can be equated with terrorism. ”