Brazilian journalist says he was arrested at Manchester airport day after bombing attack for reading a book on Isis

Diogo Bercito was warned he shouldn't read it in public because 'one might think he's a terrorist'

May Bulman
Thursday 25 May 2017 13:55 BST
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Mr Bercito was 'briefly detained' at Manchester Airport the day after the terror attack for reading The Isis Apocalypse by Will McCants
Mr Bercito was 'briefly detained' at Manchester Airport the day after the terror attack for reading The Isis Apocalypse by Will McCants

A journalist has claimed he was “briefly detained” by counter terrorism officers at Manchester Airport for reading a book about Isis.

Diogo Bercito said he was pulled to one side after another passenger anonymously complained.

He was reading The Isis Apocalypse, by former adviser to the US State Department on terrorism issues Will McCants. It explores the ideology of the terrorist organisation and is often used as a reference for journalists and researchers.

The Brazilian journalist, who was sent by Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper to cover the terror attack, said he was given a form at the airport informing him he would be questioned, before going through immigration.

Writing in Folha de Sao Paulo, Mr Bercito said his passport was confiscated and that he waited “for an hour in a glass room with two other passengers”, who had been there for a few hours and “flinched” when he asked what they had done.

Two counter terrorism police officers then took him to an interrogation room, in what he described as “an episode in the Law and Order series”.

He said they looked at the book and warned that he avoid reading it in public place, “for one might think he’s a terrorist and attack him”.

Mr Brecito said they then returned his passport to him, but warned that "if they wanted, they could keep him for a long time".

He asked in his article: "Could they? Based on what? Reading a book? ”

The UK terror threat has been raised to critical in the wake of the Manchester suicide bombing attack, amid fears that the identified attacker, Salman Abedi, did not act alone.

Thousands of soldiers are set to bolster police forces after Theresa May raised the threat level to the highest possible rating, meaning another atrocity is expected imminently.

The attack shortly after an Ariana Grande concert left 22 people dead and injured 64. Around 20 people being treated for “horrific injuries” in critical care and 12 of those rushed to hospital being children.

Five more suspects have been arrested in connection to the attack by Greater Manchester Police in counter-terror raids.

The Independent has contacted UK Border Force for comment but none had arrived at the time of publication.

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