UK judges drops "public harassment" case against Greek photographer


Greek photographer Pericles Antoniou was visiting London with his family last month when he photographed a little girl on a subway train.

The girl’s mother immediately protested, so Antoniou apologized and showed the mother the images he took before deleting them.

But a man claiming to be the girl’s father followed him out of the train car as he exited the station and complained to police.

Police ended up arresting Antoniou for causing “public harassment, alarm and distress.” He was handcuffed and thrown in a jail cell before he was eventually released.

Last week, after flying in from Greece to attend a hearing, a judge dismissed the case due to lack of evidence.

Comments

Anonymous
Anonymous

“But a man claiming to be the girl’s mother . . .”

Huh. Well, it’s Greece, I guess.

Anonymous
Anonymous

Last week, after flying in from Greece to attend a hearing, a judge dismissed the case due to lack of evidence.

No hard feelings!

Anonymous
Anonymous

Ken,

While some people think I have no editor, the truth is, I have hundreds. Thanks.

Anonymous
Anonymous

These stories make me want to go nowhere near Europe, especially the UK.

Anonymous
Anonymous

I suppose he had to talk to the cops instead of shutting his cake-hole.

1. Have a digital voice recorder with download capability, and record the whole encounter. Wal-Mart has one for about $35.

2. Time the entire encounter from start to finish. (That means the second the officer approaches you. These encounters should last no more than 20 minutes.)

3. Ask the following questions, and stay on those points specifically, and explicitly. Don’t waiver from them:

“Under suspicion of what crime am I being detained”? (By wording it this way, you put the conversation on establishing the officer’s lawful reason for stopping you. If the officer wants to stated that the crime is “being a person of interest”, then even better since it will make future action on your part all the more easier, providing you stick to the program. No need to argue that photography isn’t a crime).

“What is your reasonable suspicion?” (If the officer states to the effect that it’s the camera, then you might also ask if that is the sole basis of his RS, or if there is anything else to constitute RS. The reason for this is because having a camera is not RS.)

“Am I free to go?”

Wash, rinse, repeat.

Be polite, professional, and don’t argue or give him an attitude.

Anonymous
Anonymous

I believe that there was a UK photographer in Greece that was harrased by police for trying to take pictures of the Bilderberg meeting. This is probably some kind of retaliation lol.

Anonymous
Anonymous

The Queen, The Vatican, The Gettys, The Rothschilds, *and* Colonel Sanders before he went tits up. Oh, I hated the Colonel with is wee *beady* eyes, and that smug look on his face. “Oh, you’re gonna buy my chicken! Ohhhhh!”

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