Agence France Presse: Assange’s Advice to Edward Snowden
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange urged GAP client and NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden to take steps to ensure his “physical security” if he chooses to travel abroad from Russia. Assange made the comments yesterday on a videoconference at a freedom of speech forum, warning Snowden to be “extremely cautious” if he leaves the country. Photo features Assange at the forum (Source: AFP).
TakePart: How Do You Recruit a Food Industry Whistleblower?
This article highlights how the new mobile-friendly website for GAP’s Food Integrity Campaign (FIC) aims to help food industry whistleblowers by arming them with information about what legal protections and other services are available. While talks of encryption and data dumps have been popular since Edward Snowden’s disclosures, FIC Director Amanda Hitt explained to TakePart that FIC’s food-related investigations are mostly done “the old-fashioned way” – in-person.
Key Quote: If you’re a USDA meat inspector or a researcher at a biotech firm, Googling “whistle-blower rights” from a company computer is probably not in your best interest. That’s why the people behind the Government Accountability Project’s Food Integrity Campaign have been thinking a lot about smart phones.
The group’s newly redesigned website, in addition to providing consumer information about food-related issues such as antibiotic resistance and ag-gag legislation, hopes to recruit whistleblowers.
A new “Letter from Loretto” by GAP client and CIA/torture whistleblower John Kiriakou describes how he was labeled a “public safety factor” – a designation essentially marking him as dangerous – when sentenced in 2013. Despite not being viewed as a threat whatsoever during the duration of his trial by anyone in a position of authority, Kiriakou is forced to serve his sentence in a low security facility (rather than a minimum security camp) because “the Bureau of Prisons inappropriately categorized his offence as one related to ‘espionage.'”
Reason: Blame World War I for Whistleblower Persecution – And So Much More
This article details how the federal government has abused the Espionage Act to target those who speak out since its inception. The piece shows how the Obama administration has charged more whistleblowers under the Act than all previous administrations combined. GAP clients Snowden, Tom Drake and Kiriakou were all charged after disclosing key information to the press and public.
Michael Riley is a Communications Intern for the Government Accountability Project, the nation’s leading whistleblower protection and advocacy organization.