It’s the end of a soap opera that had caused a stir in the world of French publishing. Charges against publisher Ernest M., arrested in London last April by British police under an anti-terror law, have just been dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service.
Ernest M., head of foreign rights on behalf of La Fabrique and La Volte editions, was arrested on Monday April 17 “without reason” at the exit of the Eurostar, the train that links Paris and London. Before being arrested by the British police, for having refused to give access to his computer and his mobile phone that they demanded of him. The publisher was finally released the day after his arrest.
“We have received (…) enormous support from booksellers, authors and authors, readers, publishers and associations for the defense of freedoms, in France, the United Kingdom and elsewhere. around the world”, rejoices the publishing house in a press release sent to the press on June 28. Another press release, sent this time by Ernest M.’s lawyers, partially sheds light on the facts. According to them, the publisher was arrested “under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000” (an anti-terrorist law) “while he was on his way to the London Book Fair”, an international book fair, organized each year in the Kingdom -United. “He was arrested because of his refusal to give access to his professional laptop and his mobile phone, placed in police custody and then released on bail”, write Marie Dosé and Richard Parry, the two lawyers.
On June 27, 2023, officers returned the publisher’s laptop and phone. According to Counter Terrorism Command officers, his data has not been downloaded, except for that on his SIM card, which has not been accessed.
The lawyers of the publishing house, which publishes texts from the radical left, suspect the French authorities of being behind this arrest. “Questions persist about the role of the French authorities played in this affair, in particular taking into account the questions exclusively centered on French politics posed to our client during his interrogations”, they write, before denouncing the “difficult to understand silence” of the authorities. French in this case. A forthcoming report by the “Independent Observer of Terrorism Legislation in England” should shed light on this arrest.
