http://www.indymedia.org/fbi/
This page is updated whenever we get new info. Please add date/time on a translation, and check with the English original whether it is based on the latest version.
Updated 15 Oct, 20 GMT

Press contact: press(a)indymedia.org

The servers are back - why aren't things back to normal?
"There has been a lot of work for the techies:

1. Finding temporary solutions
2. Implementing a more permanent solution
3. Retrieving backups
4. Inspecting the returned disks

Please sign the solidarity statement :
Declaration in Support of the Indymedia Network and Against the Seizure of its Servers

"And even if there were something far more serious involved than just a couple of photos, the procedure ought to send shivers down the spine of every publishing organisation on the Internet." (The Register, UK, Oct 11, 04)

Who took Ahimsa?
Why were more then 20 Indymedia sites taken down?
Directly affected Indymedia sites
Rackspace's statement
Legal Information (MLAT, etc.)
Indymedia & the FBI: earlier incidents

• On Thursday, 7 October around 18 GMT two Indymedia servers hosted by Rackspace in the UK went down. The servers (ahimsa) host the sites of more then 20 local collectives, radio streams for several radio stations, BLAG (a Linux distribution as well as miscellanous other projects. Indymedia was not informed prior to this action, nor have we been given any information why the hardware was taken, by whom and who holds it now. Indymedia issued a press release that has been taken up globally. It was followed by a lot of specualtions worldwide on the reasons. The next day, 8 October Rackspace stated that they responded to a "Commissioner's subpoena". "Rackspace is acting as a good corporate citizen and is cooperating with international law enforcement authorities. The court prohibits Rackspace from commenting further on this matter."
• Indymedia failed to get information from authorities in the US and the UK.
• According to an AFP report, published on 8 October, "the FBI acknowledged that a subpoena had been issued but said it was at the request of Italian and Swiss authorities. 'It is not an FBI operation,' FBI spokesman Joe Parris told AFP." Indymedia could not get direct confirmation of this statements.
• 1st press release, Oct 7
• 2nd Press Release, Oct 9
• 3rd Press Release, Oct 11/12
• 4th Press Release, Oct 15
• Press release by IMC Italy (en) | (it)
• Press release by IMC Uruguay (es)
• Press release by IMC Netherlands (nl)
  

• Indymedia does not have any information on the reasons and the nature of order and the actions taken.
• Indymedia does not know whether Rackspace was ordered to provide information on the servers, or the hardware (servers or disks). Apparently the hardware was handed over.
• Indymedia does not know if Rackspace is under a gag order, or what legal restrictions were imposed requiring them to act this way, or whether their legal department had enough time to study the request.

IMCs back alive:

• Andorra: alive
• Antwerp: alive
• Brasil: alive
• Euskal Herria: alive
• Galiza: alive
• Italy: alive
• Liege: alive
• Oost-Vlaanderen: alive
• Poland: alive
• Portugal: alive
• Prague: alive (collective is no longer active)
• UK: alive
• Western Massachusetts: alive
• West-Vlaanderen: alive

IMCs with temporary solution

• Belgrade: points to http://www.indymedia.org/en/index.shtml, exile at http://croatia.indymedia.org/features/beograd/
• Lille: sharing a site with Nantes and Nice
• Marseille: Static Information Page
• Nantes: sharing a site with Nice and Lille
• Nice: sharing a site with Nantes and Lille
• Uruguay: points to http://uruguay.linefeed.org/comunicado/ (we are working in our website at server stray: http://uruguay.linefeed.org)

IMC shut down

• Ambazonia: points to http://www.indymedia.org/en/index.shtml
• radio.uk1.indymedia.org: points to http://www.indymedia.org/en/index.shtml

Other affected sites

• keys.indymedia.org: still down (this is only public keys, obviously)
• Germany: all pictures are missing

according to Jebba's blog:

• www.blagblagblag.org - Linux Distro, will be back up around Tuesday
• www.foref.org - For Refugees (inactive?)
• syndicate.org.uk - I dont recall what was on the site, but they did mail.
• indymail.org - Test/brainstorm webmail server
• agnud.org - Linux distro dont know what happened to it (inactive?)

For around 4 years AHIMSA mirrored a number of Free Software projects. It was the main mirror for KDE (download.kde.org ???), mirrored php.net, kernel.org, Linux Documentation Project, apache, cpan, and probably a couple others. As the various Free Software projects developed more mirrors, the AHIMSA mirrors were removed to make space for Indymedia & BLAG.

Imc-UK server admins have done a quick calculation and the loss of Ahimsa means that the FBI action deprived the network of about 1 million pieces of content. Much of this is now back online from backups, but some of the sites have lost a lot of content. We are compiling a list now, please add as you find out more:

Data loss

• Antwerp: data starting from june
• Italy: two months data {Italy imc won't restore its archives until this situation is solved}
• Marseille: all data since latest backup on July 31, 2004 (attempt to restore data)
• Nantes: Unknown but definite data loss
• Nice: one month data {actually live with backup of 02 sept 2004}
• Uruguay: all content since April 2004
• Western Mass: all data since latest backup on July 31, 2004

Background on MLAT - Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty - can be found on the websites below. Basically, the MLATs are bilateral agreements that the US has made a lot of countries sign. These agreements allow for the US to "do stuff within other nations" that was previously not possible due to national sovereignty. As such, MLATs are an example of "bad" or "globalisation from above".
Intro: http://www.statewatch.org/news/2003/jul/08euus.htm Background on Section 1782 - This section of the US Code allows cooperation with a foreign or international investigation, even during a preliminary investigating phase.
Intro: http://assembler.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode28/usc_sec_28_00001782----000-.html Additional links for further reading:

• http://travel.state.gov/law/mlat.html
• http://www.lexum.umontreal.ca/mla/en/
• http://www.sas.ab.ca/uncp/Documents/c1698e.html
• http://www.oas.org/juridico/MLA/en/can/en_can_prost.en.html
• http://www.refuseandresist.org/big_brother/012801searching.pdf

Earlier incidents with the FBI, CIA or other US authorities included:

• Gov't Attempts Subpoena For Indymedia Logs - Service Provider Refuses: Shortly before the RNC in NYC, August 2004, the FBI attempted to retrieve IP logs from one of Indymedia's ISP at their offices in the US and in Amsterdam (Netherlands).
• Free Radio Santa Cruz Raided by Federal Government
• Indymedia fights Diebold's legal attempt to silence discussions about e-voting
• Cyprus IMCista Investigated by United States Intelligence Services
• FBI asked for the Nantes post on swiss police to be removed, but admitted no laws were violated:
  "The FBI agents told me that they were not concerned with the photos, but with the identifying information. There never was any such identifying information, and even if there was, it would likely be protected by the first amendment if it was obtained legally. (There was a recent case here in Washington that you may be familiar with on this very issue). But, even assuming it is illegal to post identifying information (which it is not), there WAS NO SUCH info. The FBI agents freely admitted to me that individuals have a right to take hotographs of agents in public places and post those photos on the internet."