UK police arrests French publisher from work trip in London over anti-Macron protests in Paris

London: In a bizarre incident, two plainclothes Scotland Yard detectives stopped a well-known French publisher as he was on his way to the London Book Fair in Kensington and questioned him about his involvement in anti-government protests back in his country.

Ernest Moret, works as foreign rights manager for Éditions La Fabrique in Paris.

Moret was reportedly stopped by ports officers and questioned for six hours under terrorism laws when he arrived at St Pancras station on the Eurostar from Paris at 6.30pm on Monday.

He was searched and his phone and laptop were confiscated, and demanded his passwords; according to coworkers, he refused to comply.

His furious employers blasted his treatment yesterday night as a violation of his right to free speech, and pals encouraged protests in front of the British Embassy in Paris and the French Institute in London.

After French President Emmanuel Macron passed a contentious pension reform into law that includes raising the retirement age to 64, thousands have demonstrated in Paris over the past three months.

His detention is believed to be the first time a French person has been detained in the UK due to protests in his own country, though the Metropolitan Police has not confirmed this.

It was revealed last night, as a diplomatic battle over his incarceration erupted, that the 28-year-old publisher is still being held after being arrested for refusing to reveal the passcodes to his computer and phone.

The editorial director of the Paris-based publishing house, Stella Magliani-Belkacem, who was with him when he was arrested, told the Guardian: “When we were on the platform, two people, a woman and a guy, told us they were counter-terrorist police.”

They claimed they had the right to question him about protests in France and displayed a document called Section 7 of the Terrorism Act of 2000.

“I’m still shaking,” she continued, “and we are still in shock over what happened.”

The Terrorism Act of 2000’s Schedule 7 permits police to stop and search individuals passing through the UK border in order to “determine whether that person is or has been involved in the commission, preparation, or instigation of acts of terrorism.” Moret was initially detained under this provision.

The act specifies that stopping a passenger “does not necessarily mean the officer believes the person is a terrorist.”

However, if a suspect “refuses to cooperate and insists on leaving,” they may be held for a further nine hours.

On suspicion of willfully impeding a Schedule 7 examination in violation of section 18 of the Terrorism Act 2000, Moret was additionally detained the following day.

La Fabrique referred to the arrest as a “assault on freedom of expression” and asserted that the British and French governments conspired to imprison Mr. Moret.

‘The police officers claimed that Ernest had participated in demonstrations in France as a justification for this act, a quite remarkably inappropriate statement for a British police officer to make and which seems to clearly indicate complicity between French and British authorities on this matter,’ said a spokesman for the publisher, calling his arrest’scandalous’.

“We view these actions as outrageous and unjustified violations of fundamental rights to free speech and as an illustration of how anti-terrorism laws can be abused.”

According to reports, after the three-day book show, which will feature a speech from the wife of the Ukrainian president, Olena Zelenska, Moret had 30 meetings scheduled in London before he was set to return to the French capital on Friday.

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,
India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.