This refers to the editorial "Free-speech hypocrisy" (August 26). The US and the West are destroying the much-touted free speech and freedom of expression, for which they are known. The sentencing of US soldier Bradley (now Chelsea) Manning and detention of a Guardian journalist's companion at London's Heathrow airport sends a chill down one's spine. Even though the latter was released, the hard disks containing files related to whistle-blower Edward Snowden were confiscated and destroyed without any due process of law. The free press is in grave danger in a supposedly free nation. The UK seems to be acting at the behest of the US in the National Security Agency surveillance controversy. The journalists who had exposed the Watergate scandal, became heroes. The US has lost the right to call itself a protector of human rights and free media. It is heartening to note that the Guardian is fighting back with papers such as The New York Times and Germany's Der Spiegel.
Deendayal M Lulla Mumbai
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