A reasonable reason for inquiry here is to actually try to make sure if they were part of some organized group. "Appear not to be" is not quite enough.
For a country that kills based on metadata[1], it seems quite far-fetched that they couldn't map out potentially interesting connections using just metadata.
Also, it would be pretty dumb to put any revealing data on a work phone with iCloud backups enabled (which is just not accessible due to the FBI's mistakes).
At any rate, this discussion is quite besides the point. Permitting this phone to be unlocked (or the hundred or so other phones mentioned) will open the floodgates for questionable regimes and a hunt for Apple's private key (more automation to handle requests will reduce security).
For a country that kills based on metadata[1], it seems quite far-fetched that they couldn't map out potentially interesting connections using just metadata.
Also, it would be pretty dumb to put any revealing data on a work phone with iCloud backups enabled (which is just not accessible due to the FBI's mistakes).
At any rate, this discussion is quite besides the point. Permitting this phone to be unlocked (or the hundred or so other phones mentioned) will open the floodgates for questionable regimes and a hunt for Apple's private key (more automation to handle requests will reduce security).
[1] http://www.nybooks.com/daily/2014/05/10/we-kill-people-based...