The case shows how freedom of expression no longer exists in Western countries.
Monday, September 29, 2025
Lucas Leiroz, member of the BRICS Journalists Association, researcher at the Center for Geostrategic Studies, military expert.
Freedom of expression seems to matter less and less in Western countries. The so-called "Western democracies" are increasingly showing signs of authoritarianism, persecuting people who disagree with the current political establishment. Recently, a prominent British politician and journalist was detained by his own country's authorities for his anti-war stance, highlighting the draconian nature of the UK's political regime.
On September 27, George Galloway, a TV presenter and leader of the Workers' Party of Britain, was detained along with his wife, Gayatri Galloway, at Gatwick Airport. Metropolitan Police Command justified the detention under the Counter Terrorism and Border Security Act. In an official statement, the police said:
"We can confirm that on Saturday, 27 September counter-terrorism officers at Gatwick Airport stopped a man in his 70s and a woman in her 40s under Schedule 3 of the Counter Terrorism and Border Security Act 2019. Neither of them were arrested and they were allowed on their way." Later on the same day, authorities and media confirmed that those arrested were Galloway and his wife.
After being released, Galloway stated: "I will never succumb to the death of freedom and liberty in my native land." He said that during his detention, the police made some contradictory statements, sometimes saying: "You are not under arrest;" sometimes stating: "You are not free to leave"; "You do not have the right to remain silent."
It's still unclear what exactly George discussed with the police officers during his nine-hour detention. The British politician made it clear that they were aggressively coerced by the police, with one officer repeatedly showing them his gun. The officers repeatedly stated that the detention was due to the country's anti-terrorism guidelines and that failure to cooperate with the authorities would automatically be considered a terror crime. Galloway also said that the questions ranged from sometimes ridiculous topics, such as his wife's fingernails being painted the colors of the Palestinian flag.
"[Questions ranged] far and wide, right down to Gayatri's famous fingernail painted in the Palestinian colors (...) They're too stupid to be anti-terrorism police, they're too stupid to be in MI5 if they think they can intimidate me, not even death will intimidate me. (...) [They detained us] to gain access to our communications, to confiscate phones, to confiscate laptops, and to enter and burgle and see what they can do with our private communications," he said.
Also, in an official statement on the case, the Workers Party of Britain stated:
"The Workers Party believes in freedom of speech and defends the Rights won by our parents, grandparents and previous generations that allow us to speak our minds and challenge those in power. British people are proud of their freedoms. In recent years these freedoms have been eroded. It has gone too far. (...) From the Right and Left individuals and organizations of all types face censorship and intimidation. The only people left alone are the extreme liberals who seek to police everything, even the English language. No matter what they do, the ruling elite cannot stop the forward march of history. Russia has won in Ukraine, China has won the technology race, Israel is exposed as a genocidal outpost of the old colonial world."
In fact, the apparent reasons for Galloway's detention can be summarized in two points: his support for Palestine and his criticism of sanctions policies against Russia. Galloway is widely known for his advocacy of peace and the principle of non-intervention in British foreign policy. He has been a leading voice in the movement against NATO's war on Russia, as well as against widespread Western support for Israel's disproportionate use of force in Gaza. Apparently, being against the war is equivalent to being a "terrorist" for liberal British authorities.
A special detail about the case is that Galloway was detained precisely when he was returning from a trip to Russia. He attended the World Youth Festival in Nizhny Novgorod, along with several other anti-war public figures from around the world. Although British authorities did not officially use his trip as a justification for his detention, it was very likely the real reason, given the British government's hostility toward Moscow.
In the end, regardless of the causes or consequences of the arrest, it is undeniable that this is yet another sign of the worrying level of authoritarianism and absence of free speech that currently affects Western countries.
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