Some Indymedia sites back
p2pnet.net News:- Five of the downed Independent Media Center (IMC) websites have been restored, including Brasil, Euskal Herria, Poland, UK and Nice, says IMC, going on that volunteers are working around the clock to restore the remaining sites.
But, "at least four of them – Uruguay, Italy, Western Massachusetts and Nantes – have suffered data loss as a result of the governments’ action," it says on its home page.
"Evidence is beginning to mount that the authorities of at least four countries (Switzerland, Italy, U.K. and U.S.A.) are involved in last week’s seizure of two of Indymedia’s servers that brought down more than 20 of the Indymedia network’s web sites and several internet radio streams," it states.
IMC servers are managed by Rackspace, based in Texas, and according to the FBI, subpoenas were issued for the hardware at the request of Italian and Swiss authorities.
"Indymedia has yet to receive any official statement or information about what the order entailed or why it was issued," it says, going on:
"An FBI spokesperson, Joe Parris, confirmed to Agence France-Presse that the FBI issued a subpoena to the provider who hosted the Indymedia servers in the U.K., but that it was ‘on behalf of a third country.’ (1) Daniel Zapelli, senior federal prosecutor for Geneva (Switzerland), confirmed that he has opened a criminal investigation into Indymedia coverage of the 2003 G8 Summit in Evian. (2) Zapelli will provide details of that investigation at a press conference on Tuesday.
"Federal prosecutor of Bologna (Italy) Marina Plazzi stated that she is investigating Italy Indymedia because it may ’support terrorism.’ (3) Plazzi says she will provide more information on Thursday, October 14th."
Yesterday, the EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) said it’s taken up the case and has contacted the FBI to demand the return of the IMC’s "illegally seized servers" and is preparing for legal action in the event negotiations with the FBI fail.
It’s also calling on Rackspace to challenge, "the government’s illegal seizure".
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See:-
home page – Indymedia to U.S., U.K., Swiss and Italian Authorities: "Hands Off Our Websites", October 11, 2004
subpoenas – FBI closes IMC sites, p2pnet, October 12, 2004
