Reporters Without Borders demands an explanation from the American border control as to why Ilja Trojanow was denied access to the United States. The German writer/journalist was stopped at the Salvador da Bahia airport (Brazil) on September 30, 2013, as he was about to board a flight to Miami.
He was denied any explanation although according to our sources his travel documents were in order. Considering Trojanow’s past work, his only crime could be his views on surveillance.
Trojanow is known for his critical work on large-scale surveillance programs developed by the United States and some of their allies. The writer/jouralist cosigned a letter published by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on September 18, asking the German Chancelor Agela Merkel to take action against the effects of said surveillance in Germany.
“It seems that the United States are rejecting all forms of criticism in the name of national security. If Ilja Trojanow’s entry to the United States was denied him because of his views on the international surveillance scandal, then American authorities are deliberately suppressing a matter of public interest. This is absolutely unworthy of the land of the 1st Amendment,” said Reporters Without Borders.
“We can also wonder whether this is a message to Brazil. The country has legitimately asked for an account of American spying on President Dilma Rousseff, who has recently cancelled an official trip to Washington.”
“Glenn Greenwald, one of the most active journalists when it comes to publishing Edward Snowden’s revelations on global surveillance, currently lives in Brazil. His partner, David Miranda was detained for nine hours at Heathrow International Airport in London, under the Terrorism Act.”
“It seems difficult to rule out a link between these events and Ilja Trojanow’s misadventure.”
Trojanow was to participate in a conference held in Colorado. In 2012, he had already been denied a visa by the American Consulate, which finally yielded under pressure from the host university.
