Designer Arrested Over Anonymous Press Release

An anonymous reader writes "A Greek designer named Alex Tapanaris, whose name appeared on the PDF press release circulated by online trouble-makers Anonymous has had his web site disappeared and, according to reports, the unfortunate chap has been arrested. THINQ managed to talk to Alex on the phone, and while he wouldn't confirm his arrest, he 'certainly sounded spooked,' the web site reports. 'No comment,' he said and hung up. The press release sought to explain Anonymous's aims and lack of any formal organization. It explained that the Anonymous name is applied to a shifting roster of individuals who come together on an ad hoc basis, depending on individual concerns and practical, day-to-day matter such as who happens to be online at the time. Clicking on the document's properties revealed Tapanaris as its named author."

What could possibly be the charge?

[Dr. Spork]

Is he charged with designing graphics? With sympathizing with an unsavory group? How the heck would that arrest warrant look? How is the creation of that document even something in the vicinity of a crime?

Arrest isn't the worst possibility

[elucido]

The worst possibility is to be stalked by legions of anti-wikileaks vigilantes.

This guys life may very well be ruined over this as now he's going to face the Greek version of COINTELPRO. Read about operation Gladio.

And because he's Greek the CIA, NSA and US Military can use full force on him. They don't even have to pretend to respect his human rights or civil rights like they would if he were an American. Extrajudicial justice from the vigilantes will be what he could face just by having associated himself with this sort of manifesto.

It's like having signed your name to the US Constitution or Communist Manifesto and somehow it leaks out and now they all know who you are and where you live.

Proof Positive

[frovingslosh]

Clicking on the document's properties revealed Tapanaris as its named author

Well that settles it then, because these computer people would never figure out that you could put the name of someone that you don't like in a document like this and cause them problems too while you are doing your original mischief.

Re:Focus on the Drama, not the important cables.

[Attila Dimedici]

OK, all you did was find a cable from the U.S. Embassy in Honduras that reflects the position taken by the Obama Administration at the time that the Legislature and Supreme Court of Honduras got the Honduran Army to remove the President of Honduras (who just about everybody agrees was committing a crime defined by the Honduran Constitution at the time). It does not show that the Obama Administration lied or that it supported the "coup" government, since the Obama Administration opposed the coup government, even to the point of suggesting that they would not recognize the results of the previously scheduled election.

Re:Proof Positive

[arivanov]

Especially considering the fact that Tapanaris means more or less "Thick as a Brick" in more than one language in countries neighbouring Greece to the north.

This smacks of a rather unintentional Bulgarian or Serbian practical joke. Whoever did it did not expect that there may be a real person whose name in Bulgarian or Serbian translates more or less as "Alex The Village Idiot". The most hilarious case of mistaken identity I have heard of for a long time (for everyone but the poor greek).

Re:Proof Positive

[Anonymous Coward]

All I can say is, if I had created such a PDF, which I didn't, and wouldn't...but if I were to do something like this, you know, hypothetically speaking, the properties of the PDF would show the author as someone I didn't like and its origination online would be from an IP address plausibly linked to that person.

Re:He will be considered a subversive.

[c6gunner]

Subversive revolutionaries are usually mistreated by the authorities in any country. Governments hate subversives.

With good reason. The goal of "subversive revolutionaries" is to create chaos and destruction, in order to make the government appear weak and ineffective. To say that "governments hate subversive revolutionaries" is no more poignant than to say that teachers hate the kid at the back of the class who keeps putting tacks on their seats and shooting spitballs at them when their backs are turned.

As for the public in general, the problem with "subversive revolutionaries" is that they're usually no better - and sometimes far worse - than the regimes which they seek to depose, and that - even in the cases where the previous does not hold true - the act of overthrowing an entire government often leads to far more death and misery than was present under the existing system. Cuba is an excellent case-study; the government of Fulgencio Batista was corrupt and oppressive, but his overthrow lead to thousands of deaths and hundreds of thousands of deportations, while resulting in a government which was even more corrupt, oppressive, and ruthless. Batista had every reason to hate Castro and Guevara, and Cuba would arguably have been far better off had they not succeeded.

Re:No, you've missed the point

[Locke2005]

They seem to have forgotten the real reason for noblesse oblige, which is basically that we will kill you if you push us too far.

What do you mean by "we", peasant?