David Miranda, partner of Snowden reporter, challenges British detention David Miranda, the partner of American journalist Glenn Greenwald, right, speaks to a congressional committee investigating reports in Brasilia, Brazil. London: The partner of journalist Glenn Greenwald, who brought leaks from former US spy agency contractor Edward Snowden to world attention, went to court on Wednesday to challenge the legality of his detention by British police in August. On the same day, Germany ruled out asylum for the fugitive contractor who is currently living in Russia. David Miranda was held under anti-terrorism legislation and questioned for nine hours when he landed at London's Heathrow Airport en route from Berlin to Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. Story highlights Glenn Greenwald's partner David Miranda has lodged a legal challenge with the UK government over his London airport detention in August Germany has ruled out an asylum bid for the ex-NSA contractor fugitive leaker Edward Snowden, who currently has temporary asylum in Russia WikiLeaks advisor Sarah Harrison, who accompanied Snowden from Hong Kong to Russia, has left Snowden and travelled to Germany After his return to Rio, Mr Miranda filed a suit seeking the return of materials seized from him by British authorities and a High Court review of the basis for his detention. Mr Snowden's revelations about the extent of electronic surveillance by the United States and its allies, sometimes of each other, have embarrassed those countries but also, according to the governments, given valuable information to enemies. British authorities have said that items seized from Miranda included electronic media containing 58,000 documents from the US National Security Agency, Mr Snowden's former employer, and from its British counterpart, Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ). Arguing that Britain had misused anti-terrorism laws to detain Mr Miranda, he and Greenwald said in statements submitted to the High Court that Britain wrongly equated journalism with terrorism and improperly confiscated journalistic material. Responsible publication of sensitive material is not an act of terrorism. And those involved in such work - the journalists and those who assist them - are not involved in terrorist activity," Greenwald said in his statement. "It is irrational to suggest that sensitive material in the hands of responsible journalists and their staff should be equated with sensitive material in the hands of terrorists," he added. Such suggestions reveal a disturbing misunderstanding of the work that journalists do. Mr Miranda said he believed the British authorities had long planned to stop him, with the aim of viewing the material obtained from Mr Snowden. "They had always intended to detain me for some time, because their primary purpose was to access material I was carrying rather than to investigate or question me about terrorism," Mr Miranda said in his statement. Mr Miranda's lawyers who failed to stop the government examining the data seized after Mr Miranda's detention. Britain said at the time that Mr Snowden's leaks, published by Britain's Guardian newspaper, the Washington Post and others, had damaged national security and endangered lives. Deputy National Security Adviser Oliver Robbins argued in evidence submitted on Wednesday that British security services had been obliged to ascertain whether the data being ferried by Miranda was a threat to Britain's security. "When it became apparent that Mr Miranda would be returning to Brazil via Heathrow airport, the Security Service had a national security duty to establish the nature of Mr Miranda's activity, to gain an insight into what, if any, UK, classified material Mr Miranda was carrying," he said in a statement. Snowden asylum The German government ruled out granting asylum to Mr Snowden as a top aide to Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed optimism for rebuilding trust between Germany and the US that has been strained by suspicions that Ms Merkel's phone was tapped by the NSA. Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich said there's no basis for asylum in Germany for Mr Snowden because he's not a victim of political persecution. German authorities will instead seek ways to take testimony from Mr Snowden in Moscow as part of a probe of NSA activity. Ronald Pofalla, Ms Merkel's chief of staff, said President Barack Obama will present a new intelligence-cooperation framework between the US and Germany in mid-December. "This way I think we will be able to win back the trust that's been lost," Mr Pofalla said after a meeting of a parliamentary committee that oversees intelligence matters. The overture is aimed at helping mend a rift that opened following revelations last month that the NSA may have tapped Ms Merkel's mobile phone. Even as lawmakers prepare to call a parliamentary investigation of mass US surveillance, Ms Merkel's government has made clear this week it won't risk a break with the US. "Hardly any other country has profited so much from the trans-Atlantic relationship as Germany has," chief government spokesman Steffen Seibert said today in Berlin. Moscow Meeting Mr Snowden offered to testify to German authorities as part of any probe, according to Greens party lawmaker Hans-Christian Stroebele, who met with the fugitive in Moscow on October 31. Mr Stroebele, the most senior member of the oversight committee, disputed Mr Friedrich's objection to an asylum status. "Obviously this can be done, one only needs to want it," Mr Stroebele said. The Greens veteran last week presented a letter attributed to Mr Snowden in which he accused the US government of "systemic" crimes and offered to give testimony in Germany if he could remain in the country safely. Mr Snowden, wanted on espionage charges in the US for disclosing top-secret NSA surveillance programs, is residing at an undisclosed location in Russia under a one-year visa. His lawyer, Anatoly Kucherena, has said he would forfeit his refugee status if he left Russian soil. Sarah Harrison, an adviser for the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks who accompanied Snowden from Hong Kong and remained with him in Russia, travelled to Berlin over the weekend after concluding that the fugitive was safe. Violation of International Law "Whilst Edward Snowden is safe and protected until his asylum visa is due to be renewed in nine months' time, there is still much work to be done," Ms Harrison said in a statement posted on WikiLeaks's Twitter account. Legal advisers warned her not to return to her native UK, Ms Harrison said. The chairman of the oversight board in Germany's lower house, Social Democrat Thomas Oppermann, said the 11-member panel discussed gathering testimony from Mr Snowden as long as it didn't "bring him into difficulty." He also said the panel wants access to the NSA documents disclosed by Mr Snowden. Ms Merkel dispatched a team of intelligence officials last week to the White House to "rebuild trust" after the mobile- phone tapping revelation prompted a phone call to Obama on October 23 in which the chancellor vented her criticism. Reuters, Bloomberg