I can’t tell what exactly it is that I find immensely sad about this story. Is it the paranoia of some people that has lead to this? Is it the fact that this story, with just a few little changes (use “saboteur” instead of “terrorist” and “commissar” instead of “investigator”), could have been written in the Soviet Union? Or is it the fact that the writer, despite noticing the utter absurdity of all this (“Obviously it’s a waste of time to have counter terrorism resources being devoted to investigating photography students or professionals doing what they do. In all likelihood, a real terrorist would be more likely to behave more like a tourist and be less likely to arouse suspicion.”) then proceeds to write “Beyond these limited steps, the Investigator agreed that there was little a photographer could do to avoid coming under suspicion in these troubled times.”
(thanks, Felix!)