geeks in danger

wie krass ist das denn, man läuft mit einem rucksack voll technischen geräten durch die gegend, wird verhaftet, darf nicht seinen anwalt kontaktieren und bekommt noch nicht mal seine Sache wieder... das könnte wohl jedem von uns passieren. das ist das ergebnis einer zu ängstlichen gesellschaft und die gefahr des überwachungsstaats

London cops mug blogger for computers, phones, data, call him a "terrorist"
Cory Doctorow: David Mery is a London geek who was going down into the tube one night in July when he was arrested on suspicion of terrorism. He was held, his flat was searched, his computers and phones were confiscated, his data was copied, and his photo, DNA and fingerprints were taken. He was denied access to counsel.
He was released the next day, but his computers were not returned, nor was his record expunged.
Mery's "crime" was carrying a "bulky" backpack (e.g., a laptop bag), wearing an "unseasonably warm" coat (it was one of the coldest July days on record), and "avoiding the police" (he was looking at an SMS on his phone when he went through the turnstiles and so didn't make eye-contact with the officers there).
There is not one single piece of evidence to suggest that Mery is a terrorist, and yet the tools of his livelihood and all his personal data are now squirreled away in a police evidence locker -- the police haven't even given him an inventory or receipt for all the goods they stole.
This isn't an anti-terror investigation, it's a mugging. And it could happen to you. Hell, if it happened to me, I'd probably just be deported, since I'm only an immigrant, and not a citizen.