UK Indymedia Feature Archive
UK Indymedia : 1999 - 2016
28-04-2017 20:19
Open publishing was disabled on this site in mid-July 2016 as there was a very low volume of original grass roots news reports from activists being posted and the collective running the site was dwindling as people were working on other things. From 1st May 2017 this site is a static archive and will no longer be updated.
The history of UK Indymedia is somewhat documented under the Indymedia topic but the full history is yet to be written and perhaps never will be... but this archive will remain available.
See you in the streets!
Full article | 1 addition | 4 comments
Police serve Bytemark with production order for Bristol Indymedia information
01-09-2014 20:58
Bristol Indymedia has been hosted on a Bytemark Debian virtual server since the last server seizure in 2005 [ 1 | 2 ], during the run up to the G8. From then up until November 2013 the site was running Oscailt, in March 2014 it was re-launched as a WordPress site "using the software modremoveip". On 14th August 2014 Bristol Indymedia switched off open publishing on the site for a summer break with the intention in September to "review whether we have the time and inclination to turn publishing back on".
On 27th August 2014 Bristol Indymedia reported that, "the police had a court order to access the Bristol Indymedia server. We don’t know for sure, but assume that our web hosts have complied with the order and given the police this access". Bristol Indymedia disabled open publishing on the server and said "it is unlikely that open publishing of news items will ever be re-enabled as it would require complete re-installation of the server".
Since then the only source of further information has been from an article in The Times which reported that the PACE special procedure production order obtained by Avon and Somerset Police and served on Bytemark on 15th August 2014 "demands access to the details of administrators and bill-payers, login credentials, information on those who posted articles and the IP addresses of everyone who visited the site over an unspecified period". The court order served on Bytemark hasn't been published. The Times has reported that the Police have said that, "No arrests have been made in connection with this incident".
Corporate Coverage: [ The Times: Activist website Indymedia shuts down after police raid (repost) | The Bristol Post: Anarchist website Bristol Indymedia to close following police raid (repost) | Bristol24-7: Bristol Indymedia offline for good after police raid ]
Activist Coverage: [ Urban75: Indymedia Bristol raided by plod, servers accessed! | LibCom: Sources and the police raid on Bristol Indymedia ]
Full article | 1 addition | 10 comments
Police action against Bristol Indymedia
28-08-2014 18:27
Bristol Indymedia reported on 27th August 2014 that:
The Police have physically accessed the Bristol Indymedia server.
Last week we heard from our web hosts that the police had a court order to access the Bristol Indymedia server. We don’t know for sure, but assume that our web hosts have complied with the order and given the police this access.
We consider this server to be compromised, users should assume that from this point on the Police have access to the IP address of anyone accessing this site.
In light of this it is unlikely that open publishing of news items will ever be re-enabled as it would require complete re-installation of the server.
We are going to leave the calendar on for now, but note that it is likely that IP addresses are now being recorded and accessed by the Police.
Updates to the Indymedia Newswire
16-02-2014 22:44
The UK Indymedia Collective met this weekend in Wales. Amongst other things, we have agreed some changes to the newswire. The default view will now be the promoted newswire — articles that have been read and promoted by a member of the collective. This will mean that newly published articles won't immediately appear on the front page of the site but can be viewed by clicking through to the open newswire. We hope these changes will encourage people to post content that meets the editorial guidelines.
Secret City: Oxford Screening + Q+A
17-02-2013 22:35
Celebrating two years of regular film screenings at OARC, East Oxford Community Centre, Oxford Indymedia presents the new independent film Secret City, on Sunday 3rd March from 7pm. For this Oxford Premier, we are pleased to be joined by film makers Lee Salter and Michael Chanan, who will be presenting the film and doing a Q&A session afterwards.
The City of London is an anomaly in UK democracy. With just 7,000 permanent residents and the lowest car ownership in the country, its own police force, its arcane system of self-government with its Lord Mayor, Livery Companies and Alderman, businesses that have the right to vote and it’s direct accountability to the Crown rather than Parliament, the City houses the one of the Globe's key financial centres and the Inns of Court, the heart of the UK’s legal system. The City is the place where banks, brokers, insurers and other money-makers enjoy their unimpeded ascendancy.
The Occupy LSX movement, which arose in 2011, once again drew public attention to the unprecedented political and financial status the City enjoys; largely unchanged since William the Conqueror's time. Secret City will take us on a tour of key City locations by an Occupy activist, Liam Taylor and delve into the history and mystery of the UK's most powerful centre.
The night will be held downstairs in the bar where Catweazel Club is normally held, so there will be refreshments on tap and in bottle for the night. Come along and watch the film and celebrate two years of screenings with Oxford Indymedia.
Article about first year of screenings | oarcfilms web site | Secret City trailer (links to external site) | screening flyer
New Email Lists and Wiki for UK Indymedia
08-06-2011 20:25
Two of the key tools that Indymedia activists use for communication and collaboration are email lists and wiki pages. UK Indymedia activists have made extensive use of lists hosted by the global Indymedia list server and of the global Indymedia wiki over the last decade. But at the end of May 2011 key lists were shutdown without agreement and wiki accounts deleted.
In response to this situation, new email lists have been set up for people who wish to contact the site admins or to be involved in discussions about features and moderation. There is also a new wiki site for UK Indymedia related documents. In addition there is now a new Users list for users of this site to raise matters which are not covered by the Moderation, Features or Tech lists.
Sheffield Anarchist Bookfair 2011
17-05-2011 14:10
Sheffield's second annual anarchist book fair will be held Saturday 21st May from 10:00 - 18:00 @ Bank Street Arts, 32-40 Bank Street (A much brighter venue than last year!). There will be meetings and presentations throughout the day as well as some film screenings (a new feature for this year). There is also a a social/fund raiser in the evening 8:00 til 2:00, @ the Redhouse, 168 Solly Street.
Sheffield Indymedia will be screening the LibDem Conference protest video over lunch and also hosting an open discussion, with the Mayday Collective, from 5-6pm, about what is happening with UK Indymedia. Come along and have your say about the future of the site! See also the report and audio from the 2010 Sheffield Anarchist Bookfair.
Also the Sheffield Temporary Autonomous Arts event is on now in Sheffield, till Sunday and is being held at Unit 3, Bowdon Street, S1 4JP. It should be great, see the report of last years event.
Links: Sheffield Bookfair Website
Oxford's position on disagreements within Indymedia in the UK
13-05-2011 00:19
There have been disagreements within the UK Indymedia movement for some time. These came to a head on 1 May 2011. As a result, there are now two national projects - Mayday and Be The Media, and conflict between the two groups continues.
We don't intend to go into the details in this article, but you can read about them in the articles Big changes are coming to Indymedia UK (published by Be The Media) and The Attempt to Shutdown UK Indymedia (published by Mayday).
Autonomy for the UK
09-05-2011 11:53
On 1st May 2011 the UK Indymedia Network forked into two autonomous projects, running two different websites, UK Indymedia and Be The Media. Also, a snapshot of the UK Indymedia site as it existed on the date of the the fork was created as an archive.
There was a consensus in the UK Indymedia Network that the project needed to fork, so that Indymedia members with different views could all work on developments they were happy with rather than come into constant conflict. An agreement was made in December to implement the fork on May 1st but the agreement broke down at the eleventh hour. Mayday believed that part of the agreement was that their collective was to have globally recognised Independent Media Centre status at the time of the fork. Be The Media had interpreted this differently and did not see it this way. The consensus that had been thrashed some 4 months before had now snapped and activists, being activists, took action. Be The Media started implementing the changes to the site shortly after midnight on May 1st. Mayday saw what was happening, considered the blocks to have been ignored [1] and felt that if this proceeded it would have in effect shut down the UK Newswire. After several hours of discussion and consideration they agreed they couldn't let it proceed like this and so, in the early hours of May 1st, sleepless techies migrated the entire web site to a new server, thus effecting the fork on the agreed date but not in the way originally planned.
Articles: I'm glad Indymedia UK is still here! | What's up with UK Indymedia? | Ode to IMC UK: keep it going.... | Britain's Left Defeats Itself Again | IMC UK Shut Down #IMCUKshutdown
Features: The 1st May 2011 UK Indymedia Network Fork | Big changes are coming to Indymedia UK | The Attempt to Shutdown UK Indymedia
Elsewhere: SchNEWS: Indymedia: From the Rubble of Double Trouble
Full article | 1 addition | 241 comments
The 1st May 2011 UK Indymedia Network Fork
02-05-2011 22:56
On May 1st 2011, there was an attempt by BeTheMedia to disrupt the Indymedia UK site. They do not have consensus to do this, so the Mayday Collective took direct action to secure the site.
Articles: I'm glad Indymedia UK is still here! | Autonomy for the UK | What's happening with Indymedia UK? | What's up with UK Indymedia? | Ode to IMC UK: keep it going.... | Britain's Left Defeats Itself Again | IMC UK Shut Down #IMCUKshutdown| The Attempt to Shutdown UK Indymedia
Features: Autonomy for the UK | The Attempt to Shutdown UK Indymedia | Big changes are coming to Indymedia UK
Elsewhere: SchNEWS: Indymedia: From the Rubble of Double Trouble
Liverpool Indymedia pauses
29-04-2011 11:12
This version of Liverpool Indymedia is on hold because currently there are no people able to commit time and energy to the site administration, maintenance, moderation and editing. Existing articles will continue to be available. You can instead contribute your news articles, photos etc to Northern Indymedia or the new non-regional Indymedia site that will evolve out of the existing Indymedia UK.The Attempt to Shutdown UK Indymedia
29-04-2011 01:14
UPDATE: The attempted shutdown took place, see archive.indymedia.org.uk, it was announced by IMC London and has been critiqued, but the lists don't appear to have been shutdown yet. Scotland Indymedia blocked the shutdown for 3 weeks (until they can discuss it face to face).
Some people involved with UK Indymedia have been talking about shutting down the UK IMC site for years [1], for a variety of reasons; an openly declared disillusionment with the original model of open publishing and wanting to move to pre-moderated newswires which don't allow comments on articles [2], a dislike of the political content that is carried on the UK site [3]; a desire to see the traffic, which the UK site gets, redirected to regional IMC sites [4] and perhaps other motivations. Those wanting the site shutdown have also blocked improvements being made to the UK Indymedia site [5].
However the activists who have been maintaining the UK IMC site are still committed to running a UK-wide Indymedia open newswire and are not prepared to see the UK Indymedia site shutdown. They believe that the UK Indymedia newswire provides a valuable service for articles and comments and it should be maintained. These activists are also committed to running UK Indymedia in a transparent and open manner and in the spirit of the initial Independent Media Centre. Prior to the UK Indymedia Network meeting in Bradford in December 2010 this group of IMC UK admins applied to the global New IMC process as an autonomous collective with a wish to continue running the UK Indymedia site. Clearly the UK Indymedia site isn't a New IMC, it's been going for a decade (the early IMC UK story is covered in the BeTheMedia article about the impending shutdown), the application was made to make it clear that there was a group of activists who were running and wanted to continue running, the IMC UK site, but with autonomy from the activists running the other Indymedia sites in the UK. The activists running the other Indymedia sites in the UK wanted to take the indymedia.org.uk domain away from the UK Indymedia site and point it to the BeTheMedia site (at the time it was all.indymedia.org.uk, it has subsequently been renamed).
Articles: I'm glad Indymedia UK is still here! | What's up with UK Indymedia? | Ode to IMC UK: keep it going.... | Britain's Left Defeats Itself Again | IMC UK Shut Down #IMCUKshutdown
Features: The 1st May 2011 UK Indymedia Network Fork
Elsewhere: SchNEWS: Indymedia: From the Rubble of Double Trouble
Gateway 303: Police Disinformation on UK Indymedia
22-01-2011 22:35
In the wake of the outing of 4 undercover police infiltrators into the UK activist scene, SchNews, have broken a story about police posts to Indymedia. For over two years suspected police articles and comments have been tracked by filters that are triggered by matching IP addresses, the first comment tracked in this manner dates from August 2008 and the last from January 2011. The full lists of gateway 202 and 303 posts has now been published so activists can do their own analysis on the police posts. A feature article about the abuse has also been published by Birmingham Indymedia, this feature article, first started in in December 2009, has been the subject of a huge amount of internal discussion within UK Indymedia and has been one of the reasons behind the decision to fork the project. Sheffield Indymedia supports the use of anti-abuse features to track and remove disinformation from the site and long argued for the feature article exposing the state abuse to be published.
Articles: Full list of Gateway 303 and 202 posts to IMC UK | Advocating Domestic Extremism - Cops on Indymedia - An Exposé | INTER-NETCU: Government Agency Caught Infiltrating Activist Media Outlet | State infiltration and attempted disruption of activist websites | UK Police Agent Provocateurs Exposed | Nottingham Indymedia statement on recent events | IMC London Statement on the recent Schnews Article | Bristol Indymedia's position on IP logging
Other Press Coverage: SchNews: INTER-NETCU | SchNews: Gateway Gate: Straight from the Pig's Mouth | Slashdot: UK Authorities Accused of Inciting Illegal Protest
Advocating Domestic Extremism - Cops on Indymedia - An Exposé
22-01-2011 16:02
On April 27th, 2010, a comment appeared on the Indymedia UK newswire entitled Don't use SPEAK as a model. The comment, on an article entitled New animal lab at Leicester; New nationwide campaign to start urged readers to respond to the campaign by "Model{ling} the campaign on a successful AR campaign such as Hillgrove cats or Darnley(sic) Oaks etc". Readers familiar with those campaigns will be aware that the campaigns are alleged to have included violent actions against individuals, including a a letter bomb in the Hillgrove Cats campaign, and the removal of Gladys Hammond from her grave.
UK Indymedia to Fork on 1st May 2011
14-12-2010 13:23
At a UK Indymedia Network meeting held in Bradford on 11th December 2010 it was agreed that the UK Indymedia project would fork into two separate projects on or before 1st May 2011 (fork in the sense of a Free Software fork). Many issues and disagreements over the years preceded this decision and it is now hoped that all involved will be able to continue to work on activists media projects without ongoing conflicts. One collective will take over the running of the www.indymedia.org.uk website, with a new name that won't include "UK" and on a new indymedia.org sub-domain, which has yet to be agreed. The other group will continue developing an aggregator site they are working on. The indymedia.org.uk domain will be used to host an archive of the web site which will no longer be updated.
This won't have much direct effect on Sheffield Indymedia, the web site will continue to run as part of the renamed UK Indymedia website. Sheffield Indymedia will remain on sheffield.indymedia.org.uk (and hopefully soon also be available on sheffield.indymedia.org) and it is our hope that the Sheffield Indymedia newswire will be syndicated to the aggregator site.
Making Our Own Media - public meeting
07-08-2010 19:09
Oxford Indymedia will be having a public meeting on Thursday 26 August at 7.00pm in the Oxford Action Resource Centre, East Oxford Community Centre, Princes St, OX4 1DD.
We're really keen to involve more people in Oxford Indymedia. If you've got an interest in grassroots camapigning and activism, we would love to see or hear from you. There are many roles within Oxford Indymedia - from writing feature stories to writing computer code; from writing your own news to moderating other people's news; from designing graphics to promoting Oxford Indymedia - everybody has something they can contribute.
Oxford Indymedia is the grassroots alternative to the mainstream media. Unlike most news outlets, we don't have any hidden agendas, corporate sponsors, or owners that we have to appease. Our website (which you're currently looking at) allows you to publish your own stories in your own words and with your own pictures. And we have an events calendar so you can promote your events to get more people involved in grassroots actions in Oxford.
New Nottingham Indymedia site launched
01-07-2010 13:50
It is nearly 5 years since the launch of the original Notts Indymedia website. There have been a lot of developments on the internet since then. We want to stay at the forefront of future innovation, as Indymedia was before the popularity of blogging and social networking. We want to make sure you, the users, get the most out of the site.
As such, we have launched our new Nottingham Indymedia website. We think that it's easier to use and has better features than our old site. The new site runs using the Hyperactive content management system currently used by London, Northern and Denmark IMCs. Many thanks are due to Northern, London & Sheffield for giving us loads of help in getting up and running.
The old site hasn't disappeared - it will stay archived here - but you won't be able to publish to it any more.
Nottingham Indymedia has switched to a new site
10-06-2010 07:00
Publishing has been disabled here, please visit our new site: http://nottingham.indymedia.org.uk
It is nearly 5 years since the launch of the Notts Indymedia website. A lot of developments in internet media have happened since then. We're keen to keep developing the site and making sure you, the users, can get the most out of it. As such, we switched to our new Nottingham Indymedia website on 1st July. We think that it's easier to use and has better features than the current site. Why not check it out and post your news and events. We'd love to find out what you think so we can keep improving it.
Happy Birthday Indymedia!
21-05-2010 21:07
Happy Birthday Indymedia! Party location has been announced: a 10th birthday party for Indymedia in the UK will take place in a new social center space off Camberwell Green, in south London, on Saturday 22 May, thrown together with Dissident Island. People who can't make it to this party are encouraged to hoist a beer for IMC-UK wherever they're at!
Announcing Notts Indypendent
03-05-2010 12:04
Notts Indymedia are pleased to announce the first edition of the Notts Indypendent, an offline community newspaper reporting on local campaigns.
The publication was unveiled at Nottingham's Mayday demonstration. Further copies will be distributed to homes in Nottingham in the run-up to the general election. Copies are also available from the Sumac Centre and the Sparrows' Nest. Alternatively, you can read it online or download a copy and print your own.
Get it online: Download pdf (7.7MB) | Online viewer (via Northern Indymedia)
Previous features: Nottingham Mule Rides Into Town | Alternative Media Blossoms in Nottingham | Notts Indymedia Launches Radio Show
If I can't laugh, it's not my revolution
02-04-2010 08:59
Contrary to popular perception, activists are not a humourless bunch. Not completely anyway. To prove this point, this year's April Fools' Day saw a spate of unlikely claims appearing on Indymedia.
We announced that Notts Indymedia was entering "a new era of collaboration with the Northcliffe Group, owners of the Evening Post." This was to see "content taken from the Indymedia newswire appearing in the Post, opening up the radical message of Indymedia to a larger audience than ever before. In return Indymedia will be able to use images collected by the Post's team of roving cameramen." All nonsense of course. The Post won't event return our calls.
Meanwhile, council-watching blogger and regular Indymedia contributor Andy from NCC LOLs claimed that he was planning "to run for election to Nottingham City Council in 2011 on an 'anti-sleaze' ticket." An annual celebration of the 1831 Reform Riots was to be a central plank of his manifesto. At least one local councillor fell for it.
On the newswire: NCCLols is standing for Election | Notts Indymedia announces new collaboration
Previous features: No case to answer after Notts E.On protest | Fossil Fools Take On E.ON In Nottingham
Southcoast Indymedia Revamp
30-11-2009 23:46
Southcoast Indymedia is three and a half years old. Since Southcoast Indy began it has been a place where local activists can report their news. Southcoast has hosted reports on the growth of the Smash EDO campaign [1|2|3|4|5|6|7|8|9|10|11|12|13|14|15|16|17|18], the battle for Titnore Woods [1|2|3|4|5|6|8], battles over freedom to protest in Brighton and Worthing [1|2|3|4], The Gatwick and Calais No Borders camps [1|2|3], Sussex students' struggles, the South East mobilisation for the G8 in Gleneagles, the campaign to free Omar Degahyes and Binyam Mohammed, Guantanamo Bay detainees.
Southcoast Indymedia was set up with the aim of "of providing a readily accessible source of news and information on the Kent, Sussex and Hampshire area of the south of England...We will be extending an invitation to all kinds of community groups and campaigns (well, almost all - racists and fascists are not welcome here!) to use South Coast IMC as their own site, a place where they both post news of their own and catch up with others".
Almost four years on, we would like to renew the creative process that drives Indymedia and relaunch the Southcoast collective; making South Coast Indymedia an ongoing, relevant resource for all activists in the area. With more people involved, we can make South Coast Indymedia a valuable tool for wide variety of campaigns and individuals, with South Coast-relevant features, campaign diary and newswire for announcements and reports of events in the area.
On Sunday 6th December, from 2-3.30pm, at the Cowley Club in Brighton, there will be a workshop to discuss a revamp of Southcoast Indymedia. The session is for anyone who wants to contribute content, tech support, graphic/web design or has any skills or experience to share, etc.
New ideas and general curiosity are very welcome on the day, get involved!
If you are interested contact southcoastindymedia@riseup.net
Full article | 3 additions | 2 comments
November 30th: Happy Birthday Indymedia!!
30-11-2009 20:01
Ten years have passed since the first Indymedia site came to life in November 30th 1999. Media activists came together for the first time during the amazing anti-WTO summit protests that took place in Seattle (US), kick starting the emergence of a global 'movement of movements' that has spent this decade struggling against neoliberalism, war and environmental destruction.
Northern Indymedia Launches
01-08-2009 00:06
August 1st 2009 sees the official launch of Northern Indymedia by the alt-media monkeys of IMC Northern England. Having revived the dormant IMC Leeds/Bradford and merged with IMC York, the collective is officially launching their new site as a news resource for all those seeking a better world in the grim north and beyond. 9 Months of hard work are culminating in the public unveiling of the new site at Hyde Park Unity Day in Leeds, where there will be a solar powered "Be the Media" centre provided by the collective. The pitch will also include members of the Climate Camp Yorkshire neighbourhood who are helping to launch "The Great Climate Swoop" on the same day. Full coverage of all the goings on will be put up on the new site:
Links: New site of IMC Northern England | Join our mailing list | Collaboration tools on Crabgrass | IRC Chat room | New IMC form submitted | Letter sent to IMC York proposing merge | Letter sent out to local groups in the North of England | Northern IMC at Glastonbury 2009
Welcome to former users of IMC York
23-05-2009 10:18
Indymedia York has merged with Indymedia Leeds/Bradford. The York site will remain as an archive for a short time but will not accept any news postings. If you want to publish or read news from York and its surroundings, you are in the right place.
Full article | 1 addition | 44 comments
How do you know that Indymedia does not keep logs?
19-02-2009 00:00
Indymedia UK (IMC-UK) is a network of activists who provide an open publishing platform. We are part of the wider Indymedia Network that started in Seattle during the protests against the WTO in November 1999, and the UK site was one of the first to join the network in early 2000. In common with all Indymedia Centres (IMCs) around the world, as designated in the (draft) Principles of Unity, IMC-UK does not log IP addresses - as detailed on the security page. Moreover, following on from previous requests by governmental authorities for logs, IMC-UK and many other Indymedia sites (e.g. the global website, www.indymedia.org) do not retain any logs related to the website. These facts are documented on our open mailing lists and on the open IMC documentation site, docs.indymedia.org. (here for example).
In the rest of this article, we provide some advice on how to improve the measures you take when publishing on the website if you want to do so anonymously. We also outline some legal procedures that could potentially be used to attack Indymedia and the right to free expression, as well as describing some of the technical points in more detail.
Full article | 2 additions | 26 comments
Hosting Indymedia Servers is Illegal?
12-02-2009 18:30
This Monday (9 February 2009), Kent Police arrested a man in Sheffield under the Serious Crime Act 2007 in relation to the recent Indymedia server seizure. His home was raided, all computer equipment and related papers taken. He was released after eight hours. The person had neither technical, administrative nor editorial access to the Indymedia UK website. He was only associated to the project by hosting its server.
The arrest took place under Section 44-46 of the Serious Crime Act, which was passed into law on 1st October 2008 to combat serious international crime like drug trafficking, prostitution, money laundering and armed robbery. Sections 44-46 refer to “encouraging or assisting offences”.
Kent police claim that they are after the IP address of the poster of two anonymous comments to a report about a recent animal liberation court case, which included personal details of the Judge. The IP address of the poster is not stored as Indymedia does not log IP addresses. This was acknowledged by British Transport Police in 2005, after the Bristol IMC server seizure.
For the police to arrest the person who happened to sign the contract for server hosting, is sheer intimidation, in light of Indymedia’s openly stated policy of no IP logging.
With the implementation of the EU Data Retention Directive in March 2009, the UK government attempts to turn every internet service provider in the country into part of the law enforcement apparatus. This legislation will provide a legal basis to track, intimidate, harass, and arrest people who are doing valuable and necessary work for social change, for example as peace activists, campaigners for economic and social justice or against police brutality.
The present intimidation of the open publishing alternative news platform Indymedia will have serious implications for anyone running a server in the UK which allows user contributions – blogs, social networking sites, wikis. This is an attempt to close down sites that respect the privacy of their contributors, pure and simple.
Full article | 7 additions | 58 comments
Police Seize UK Indymedia Server (Again)
23-01-2009 00:09
On 22 January 2009 an Indymedia server was seized by the Police in Manchester. This was related to postings about the recent Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC) trial.
Kent Police had e-mailed imc-uk-contact in the morning requesting that personal information about the Judge from the recent SHAC trial in the UK be removed from the site. However this information had already been quickly removed in line with IMC UK policy. The e-mail also requested information relating to the poster be retained. Indymedia as an open posting news service does not log such information about its sources.
The machine was handed to the Police by the management of UK Grid, a Manchester based colocation facility, without a warrant being shown. It is believed that a warrant for this one server may exist and have been issued by a Chief Inspector. As the server was a mirror of the site, it can be concluded that the validity of the seizure wasn't checked, and the police attacked Indymedia infrastructure in the UK.
Other sites that have been affected as a result of this seizure include London Indymedia, the global Indymedia documentation project server, la Soja Mata – an anti-GM soya campaign focusing on South American development, Transition Sheffield and a Canadian campaign against the 2010 olympics.
For details see Indymedia Uk Server Seizure Info Page and Press Release #1
Indymedia Coverage: IMC Athens | IMC Barcelona [en] | IMC Brasil | IMC Germany | Indybay | IMC Ireland | IMC Nantes [fr] | IMC New York | IMC Poland | IMC Switzerland [it]
Other Coverage: The Register | SchNews | Gulli [de] | Annalist [de] | heise online [de] | slashdot | Global Integrity Commons
Previous Seizures: FBI seizure, London | British Transport Police seizure, Bristol 2005
Full article | 4 additions | 21 comments
BNP Threatens Free Media
28-11-2008 23:51
Indymedia is yet again facing legal threats to prevent the free flow of communication, this time from a political movement known for its hostility to free speech. On the 21st November 08 Indymedia UK received an email from someone claiming to be a legal representative for the British National Party, threatening to take legal action on a number of counts for publishing information on BNP members.
After the hilarity of the “little Fuhrer”, Nick Griffin, running to the safety of the Human Rights Act to try to prevent the publication of members’ details, Britain’s fascist party has resorted to threats.
The letter sent to Indymedia by Lee John Barnes LLB (hons), from the “BNP Legal Affairs Unit”, threatens to take legal action, on the basis of theft, data protection and contempt of court, unless the list of members is removed.
The “lawyer” also attempts to shoehorn his charges into the form of anti-terrorism legislation, “The use of this information we feel is being hosted on your site for use only to incite acts of harassment, incite violence and direct targeted attacks against our members in the Leeds area”. He then goes on to explain the sections of the Terrorism Act under which Indymedia would be charged.
