When the UK servers for Indymedia were removed from Rackspace, it was allegedly a courtesy extended to the governments of Switzerland and Italy to help protect an undercover agent. The Swiss government claims no involvement in the affair. I have combed through their press releases -dozens of which appear daily - and see no official statement on the matter. Their last mention of the FBI relates to the bombing at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, when the FBI requested videos, photos and written accountsin their search for the culprit. The investigation culminated in the arrest of Eric Robert Rudolph in 2003. The recent confiscation of Indymedia's publication servers was not a polite request. It was accomplished by main force, with no time allowed for legal recourse. This is the type of action we have come to expect on order from John Ashcroft. But now we hear that the FBI wasn't involved at all - the swiss bowed out and evidence of Italian involvement seems dubious. There was a request from Bologna in the wake of the G8 summit, but it did not result in the siezure of property.

Any legal action by Indymedia would have to begin with Rackspace, as I had suggested on October 10th.

Will Rackspace talk? Lets hope they grow a spine and let us know what happened the day UK Indymedia went down. That's why I'm emailing this article to the author of the following statement:

On Tuesday October 5th, Indymedia received the following message from Rackspace: "I apologize for the delay in responding. I have been trying to get a hold of the FBI agent I spoke with before, but haven't been able to at this time. As the request originated with the Swiss police, I can only speculate on what they saw or what they were concerned about. However, at this time, I have received no further communications from either the FBI or the Swiss authorities, so I feel like we can close this this issue."

btw, federal warrants are generally served by a federal marshall. Rackspace may have been too terrified to make the distinction.

David Roknich

DOGSPOT