Reporter Following Trail of Corruption in EU is Arrested
by Ambrose Evans-Prichard

Police arrested a leading investigative journalist yesterday on the orders of the European Union, seizing his computers, address books and archive of files in a move that stunned Euro-MPs.

Hans Martin Tillack, the Brussels' correspondent for Germany's Stern magazine, said he was held for 10 hours without access to a lawyer by the Belgian police after his office and home were raided by six officers.

"They asked me to tell them who my sources were. I replied that was something I would never do. Now they have all my sensitive files, so I suppose they'll find out anyway," he said last night. "The police said I was lucky I was not in Burma or Central Africa, where journalists get the real treatment," he added.

Mr Tillack said the raid was triggered by a complaint from the EU's anti-fraud office, OLAF. He was accused of paying money to obtain a leaked OLAF dossier two years ago, which he denies. The European Ombudsman has already come to his defence, issuing harsh criticism of OLAF's campaign to silence him.

Mr Tillack, who describes himself as a "pro-European federalist", has been OLAF's most vocal critic, accusing it of covering up abuses within the EU system. As the author of a recent book on EU corruption, he has the greatest archive of investigative files of any journalist working in Brussels.

OLAF was created to replace the old fraud office, UCLAF, which was accused of covering up abuses by the disgraced Santer Commission. Many UCLAF staff were transferred to OLAF.
The Daily Telegraph, 20th March 2004

PHILLIP DAY'S COMMENT: Unfortunately this is the sort of behaviour from the EU we can expect more of in the future. With a federal police now with access to Britain whose officers have immunity from prosecution under the criminal law, opponents to the EU may be summarily rounded up and, if necessary, hauled out of the country. And how long before the EU police resort to giving opponents 'the real treatment', headquartered as they are in the old Gestapo building in The Hague? Am I the only one getting goosebumps at the sound of goosesteps?

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