By Michael Lotfi,
According to Reuters, British law enforcement agencies are investigating whether Guardian newspaper staff should be investigated for terrorism offenses over their handling of data leaked by Edward Snowden, Britain’s senior counter-terrorism officer said on Tuesday.
Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger, was summoned to give evidence at a parliamentary inquiry. He was accused by lawmakers of assisting terrorists by making top secret information public and sharing it with other news organizations.
Several other news sources also published the leaks provided by Edward Snowden, National Security Agency (NSA) contractor.
The leaks also include Britain’s spy agency, GCHQ.
According to law enforcement, data obtained by Snowden contains information on spies, which could put their lives at risk.
Lawmakers told Rusbridger that he had committed an offence under Section 58A of the Terrorism Act. This section makes it a crime to publish or communicate any information about members of the armed forces or intelligence services.
Glen Greenwald is the former Guardian journalist credited with first publishing the Snowden NSA leaks.