The detention of David Miranda has sparked a massive outrage in in Brazil.
On Sunday, as it became news, the government issued a statement, expressing its “grave concern” . “This measure is without justification since it involves an individual against whom there are no charges that can legitimate the use of that legislation. The Brazilian government expects that incidents such as the one that happened to the Brazilian citizen today are not repeated,” the official statement said.
‘Would take legal action’
On Monday morning, Mr. Miranda arrived here from London and said he intended to take action against his detention and would seek assistance from Brazilian authorities. Speaking to reporters at Tom Jobim International Airport here, Mr. Miranda said the British authorities confiscated his passport soon after he landed in London from Berlin on his way to Rio. On Sunday morning, after he got a call from a British official about the detention, Mr. Greenwald alerted the Brazilian authorities who were outraged . Soon after, as diplomats from Brazil’s London embassy rushed to the Heathrow, Brazilian Foreign Minister Antonio Patriota called Mr. Greenwald.
Brazilians have still not forgotten the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes, a Brazilian electrician who was killed by the London police at Stockwell tube station in July 2005, after they mistook him for a terrorist involved in a failed bombing.
Speaking to O Globo newspaper, Mr. Greenwald said on Monday that it “only shows the true character of the United States”. “Now, I will be more aggressive with my stories in The Guardian . All this was a clear attempt at intimidation,”. He also called it a “total abuse of the law.”
