FBI-led seizure of Indymedia computers may be tied to U.S. election

The plot sickens. Last week's mysterious seizure in England of computers used by the worldwide IndyMedia activist news collective is becoming more clear--as in clear and present danger. An international journalists group contends that the goal of the FBI-led seizure was election-related intimidation, not just the temporary disruption of the network, though several IndyMedia sites are still down. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), the global organisation representing over 500,000 journalists worldwide, today called for an investigation into the action by police in Britain in co-operation with other agencies that led to the temporary closure of 21 of the more than 140 Indymedia web sites worldwideThe IFJ believes that the authorities may have abused their powers in carrying out the action, which is said to have been carried out at the request of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the United States. The IFJ believes the seizure may be linked to a September 30 court case in San Jose California, in which Indymedia San Francisco and two students at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania successfully opposed an application by Diebold Election Systems Inc to remove documents claiming to reveal flaws in the design of electronic voting machines which are due to be used widely in the forthcoming US Presidential election. [more ] and [more ]

• Servers seized by FBI returned - but who wanted what? [more ]