Richard Medhurst says officers advised him he’s suspected of being a member of Hamas – an allegation he strongly denies
Impartial British journalist Richard Medhurst, identified for his pro-Palestinian stance, has stated he was briefly detained by Austrian authorities on suspicion of belonging to a terrorist group. He was equally apprehended by UK police in August.
The Austrian-based Medhurst posted a video on his X account on Friday, claiming he had been “lured right into a entice” when the native authorities summoned him for an interview final week. On arrival, officers knowledgeable him that they had been contemplating revoking his residency due to his reporting on Gaza and Lebanon.
The British nationwide was then “ambushed by a bunch of plainclothes brokers,” who stated “they had been the Austrian equal of MI5 or the FBI,” Medhurst claimed. He was subsequently detained and served a search warrant, with officers saying he was suspected of being a member of Hamas, in addition to “disseminating propaganda [and] encouraging terrorism,” in accordance with the video.
The authorities allegedly searched his condominium and studio, impounding all his digital units.
I used to be detained this week by the Austrian police and intelligence providers.They raided my home, workplace, and took all my units.They’re accusing me of being a member of Hamas and threatened me with 10 years in jail.Journalism just isn’t a criminal offense. pic.twitter.com/gztm4bmLuY
— Richard Medhurst (@richimedhurst) February 6, 2025
“They’re my journalistic instruments. I’ve been left with actually nothing,” Medhurst said.
He was finally finger-printed and photographed, and had a pattern of his DNA collected earlier than he was launched “after six-seven hours,” the reporter recalled in his video.
Medhurst went on to allege that his run-in with Austrian authorities may very well be linked to his detention at London’s Heathrow Airport on August 15. On that event, he was held at a police station for over 24 hours on expenses of “expressing an opinion or a perception that’s supportive of a proscribed group” beneath Part 12 of the UK’s Terrorism Act 2000.
“Unusually sufficient, final week, the police in England once more prolonged this investigation after which abruptly this occurs in Vienna. I don’t suppose that’s mere coincidence,” Medhurst stated in his newest video.
He categorically denied “all of those accusations by the British and Austrian governments,” insisting: “I’m not a terrorist, I’m a journalist they usually bloody nicely realize it.”
His described the British and Austrian authorities’ actions as “disproportionate state violence” and an assault on free speech.
“I may resist 14 years in jail within the UK, plus one other two to 5 years if I don’t give them the passwords to my telephones, and perhaps one other ten years in jail in Austria,” Medhurst concluded.
In September, the Worldwide Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and UK’s Nationwide Union of Journalists (NUJ) condemned Medhurst’s detention within the UK as an try to “stifle press freedom.”