What prompted the British police to arrest Ernest Moret, a 28-year-old publisher, on Monday evening April 17, as part of an anti-terrorism law? Arriving at St. Pancras station in London, the Frenchman, head of foreign rights at the La Fabrique publishing house, was arrested by two plainclothes police officers. He was finally released late Tuesday afternoon, without being charged, but his phone and computer were seized.
In the world of publishing, reactions oscillated between amazement and scandal. Mr. Moret’s British lawyer, Richard Parry, as well as the publishing house, see it as a possible order from the French authorities to their British counterparts, in order to get their hands on the publisher’s contacts in the media. the radical left. “This raises the question of the role of the French state in this affair.underlines Mr. Parry. Did the British police do the dirty work for him? »
Mr Moret was traveling to the British capital for the London Book Fair, which runs from April 18-20. With his colleague Stella Magliani-Belkacem, he had more than thirty meetings organized on the spot, and was to participate in a cocktail at the French Institute on Tuesday evening.
The trouble started at the Gare du Nord in Paris. British Border Police questioned him, and detained him long enough for him to miss his 5.13 p.m. train on Monday evening, eventually taking the next one. “On arriving at St. Pancras, a woman in a suit and a gentleman in a suit came up to us, and presented us with a document referring to Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2000”explain to World Mme Magliani-Belkacem. This law authorizes the British border police to detain any traveler “undoubtedly reasonable”. It therefore does not have to justify itself. In this context, it may require access to the telephones or computers of the person selected. In case of refusal, the maximum penalty can reach three months in prison.
Explanation sketch
During his arrest, the police nevertheless provided a sketch of an explanation: “She mentioned a demonstration where Ernest would have been or would soon be, it was not clear”says M.me Magliani-Belkacem, who was present at the time. Then, Mr. Moret refusing to give access to his telephone and his computer, was formally arrested “for suspicion of willful obstruction of an examination under paragraph 7”. He was questioned Tuesday afternoon. Among the questions asked by the British police were, according to his entourage, strange questions: “Do you support the French president? Were you at the protests against pensions? »
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