Category: Courage News

Press release: Jeremy Hammond announced as second Courage beneficiary

Post author By admin
Post date September 16, 2014

Imprisoned hacktivist media source Jeremy Hammond becomes Courage’s second beneficiary, in addition to Edward Snowden
Tax deductible donations to Jeremy’s defence fund can now be made throughout the EU, via the Wau Holland Foundation
Jeremy Hammond’s official support site will be relaunched at freejeremy.net, with the current support team still fully involved

Courage, the international organisation dedicated to the protection of truthtellers, has announced that its new beneficiary will be Jeremy Hammond.

Jeremy was sentenced to ten years in prison for being the alleged media source for documents from the private US intelligence firm Strategic Forecasting, Inc. (Stratfor), which included revelations that they had been spying on human rights defenders, for example Bhopal activists and members of PETA, at the behest of corporations and governments. WikiLeaks published these documents in partnership with 29 media organisations worldwide as the Global Intelligence Files, which are still being used for news stories around the world. Despite hundreds of pleas, including a letter submitted by WikiLeaks from itself and its media partners – “newspapers, TV networks, and magazines with a combined audience of 500 million” – asking for leniency for Jeremy, the maximum possible sentence was given.

Jeremy Hammond, a political dissident and former member of the hacktivist network Anonymous, was sentenced to a decade in prison after he refused to inform on others and defended his actions in service of the truth and the public’s right to know. The judge in his case refused to recuse herself despite a glaring conflict of interest: her husband was a former Stratfor client and had his information revealed in the Global Intelligence Files.

Since March 2012, Jeremy has been cut off from his friends and family, and punished with extensive stays in solitary confinement. By hosting his defence fund, Courage will raise donations to enable Jeremy’s defence team to continue advocating on his behalf, monitoring his condition and fighting for his rights while in prison.

Sarah Harrison, Acting Director of Courage and WikiLeaks Investigations Editor, said:

Courage supports and defends truthtellers who take risks and need our help, wherever they are. We traditionally think of whistleblowers as insiders disclosing their employers’ abuses, but those on the outside who work to make public the secret wrongdoing of the powerful are just as vital in the effort to hold them accountable. Thanks to Jeremy, we now know the inner workings of the private intelligence sector which runs much of US intelligence activities including more than 80% of the NSA’s operations. Jeremy has found himself at the sharp end of the US government’s crackdown on the media so it’s important that he knows he has our support.

Grace North, who has been coordinating support efforts for Jeremy Hammond since June 2013, said:

This is an exciting new partnership for those of us who have worked so tirelessly to support Jeremy through this journey. Jeremy believes that one of the most important things a person can do to combat the injustices of the world is to educate themselves and others. Joining with the Courage Foundation is the next step in getting information and education to as wide an audience as possible. The more people we can reach with Jeremy’s message, and with the information Jeremy so bravely sacrificed his freedom to disclose, the more people we can have fighting on the front lines for not only Jeremy’s freedom, but the freedom of humanity.

In addition to hosting the defence fund, Courage will publicly advocate for Jeremy Hammond and build his network of support. A relaunched website at freejeremy.net will keep the public updated on Jeremy’s case, raising awareness about the importance of his revelations and publishing Jeremy’s writing from prison.

Donations to Jeremy’s defence fund can be made at freejeremy.net/donate.
Tax-free donations can be made throughout the EU via the Wau Holland Foundation at http://www.wauland.de/en/projects/07.html#JH

Courage originally began in August 2013 as The Journalistic Source Protection Defence Fund and has run Edward Snowden’s official defence fund since that time. Jeremy Hammond is Courage’s next beneficiary; his official support site is located at https://www.freejeremy.net and the related twitter account at @FreeJeremyNet

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For the Courage launch of Jeremy Hammond becoming a beneficiary, the following people are available for interviews and comment by emailing courage.press@couragefound.org:

Sarah Harrison, Courage’s Acting Director
Renata Avila, Courage Advisory Board Member and human rights lawyer
Kevin Zeese, Courage Advisory Board Member and cofounder of popularresistance.org
Bernd Fix, of the Wau Holland Foundation who now collect EU wide tax deductible donations for Jeremy Hammond
Margaret Ratner Kuntsler, Attorney for Jeremy Hammond
Grace North, Support network coordinator for Jeremy Hammond

Courage News Edward Snowden News

Press release: Courage welcomes Russia’s continued protection of Edward Snowden

Post author By admin
Post date August 7, 2014

Courage, which runs Edward Snowden’s official defence fund and his associated asylum campaign, welcomes today’s announcement that Russia will continue its protection of Edward Snowden.

Courage’s Acting Director Sarah Harrison, who facilitated Edward Snowden’s exit from Hong Kong and spent four months in Russia, including 40 days in Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport, securing his initial asylum said:

I’m relieved to hear that Edward Snowden will continue to be protected, keeping him safe from American prosecution. Courage congratulates the Russian people and the dedicated international team of lawyers, campaigners and supporters who have made this happen. Although the US government has lost this round, let us not forget the stakes – last year whistleblower Chelsea Manning was sentenced to 35 years in a US military prison and the Grand Jury against both WikiLeaks and Edward Snowden continues. By hosting Edward Snowden’s defence fund and keeping the public aware of his case, Courage has helped keep Edward Snowden safe for the past year, but his fund will need continued public support to ensure he stays protected for years to come.

Courage originally began in August 2013 as The Journalistic Source Protection Defence Fund and has run Edward Snowden’s defence fund since that time. Courage’s official Edward Snowden support site is located at http://edwardsnowden.com and the related twitter account at @CourageSnowden.

Last month Edward Snowden applied for an extension to his one year temporary asylum that ended on July 31st 2014. Courage has been campaigning for that application to be accepted; hand delivering letters calling for his protection and asylum application not to be blocked to the UK, US and German governments, writing to the Russian embassy in Washington, DC last week asking for his application to be accepted and launching an ad campaign that has been seen by over a million users of Russian social network Vkontakte.

Tags asylum, chelsea manning, courage, edward snowden, germany, grand jury, hong kong, residency, russia, sarah harrison, sheremetyevo, uk, us, vkontakte, wikileaks

Courage News Edward Snowden News

Press Release: Courage campaigns for Snowden’s continued protection in Russia

Post author By sarah
Post date July 25, 2014

With Edward Snowden’s Russian asylum expiring in one week, Courage campaigns for his continued safety

Through Vkontakte (Russia’s “Facebook”) a campaign promoting asylum extension for Snowden was seen by more than 1 million users in Russia last week alone
37 countries already covered by Courage’s #StandWithSnowden campaign
More than $90,000 in Bitcoin donations received by Courage in the year since Courage set up Snowden’s defence fund

Tags advertising, Daniel Ellsberg, edward snowden, facebook, graham linehan, it crowd, jesselyn radack, judith sargentini, julian assange, russell brand, russia, sarah harrison, social network, standwithsnowden, thomas drake, vk, vkontakte

Courage News Edward Snowden Events News

Video: Sarah Harrison gives Global Media Forum keynote address

Post author By Nathan
Post date July 8, 2014

At last week’s Global Media Forum, WikiLeaks Investigations Editor and Courage Foundation Acting Director Sarah Harrison gave the keynote address, entitled “The Battle Against Unaccountable Power”, which covered whistleblowing, publishing, and press freedom. Harrison stressed the the value of publishing source documents in full and in searchable formats, using transparency to hold the powerful to account and the importance of combating government claims that overstate threats to national security.

Tags courage foundation, national security, press freedoms, sarah harrison, Snowden, video, whistleblowing, wikileaks

Courage News Edward Snowden News

Video: Sarah Harrison discusses Courage on Democracy Now!

Post author By Nathan
Post date July 2, 2014

Courage Foundation Acting Director and WikiLeaks Investigations Editor Sarah Harrison sat down with Democracy Now! to talk about her four months with Edward Snowden after escorting him from Hong Kong to Moscow, why she can’t return to the UK, and why we need the Courage Foundation.

Harrison explained why she would go to such lengths to help Snowden:

A few reasons. One’s sort of a general ethical point that someone had done something so brave, and they should be supported, and I felt an empathy, a natural human empathy, and wished to support. Then there’s also the fact that, I mean, I work for a publishing organization. We obviously rely a lot on sources and believe in source protection. And the last example that the world had of how the U.S. government treats a high-value source is Chelsea Manning, who they put into a cage, was tortured, sentenced to prison for 35 years in the end. And I think it’s important for the world that you can speak the truth, you can blow the whistle, and you don’t have to end up in a cage; there are people that will support you, that there are people that will take risks for you, when you have risked so much, and you can have asylum in a country.

Asked about the importance of the Courage Foundation, she said:

[It’s] for Edward Snowden’s defense and also for future Snowdens. We want to show that there is an organization that will do what we did for Snowden and as much as possible in raising money for legal defense, public advocacy for whistleblowers, so that they know when they—if they come forward, there is a support group there for them.

When asked what future Snowdens should do, Harrison advised:

I think that it is important for them to understand that there are people that will support them. I think they should reach out to organizations like the Courage Foundation that can help them—ideally pre-emptively. It would be better if we didn’t have to save someone with their face all over the front pages of every newspaper in the world. And I think that—I think it’s important that they understand that there is a public desire for the truth and that they will hopefully be seen as heroes.

See the full segment and full transcript of the interview here.

Tags courage, interview, sarah harrison, Snowden, video, whistleblowers, wikileaks

Courage News News

Courage: showing solidarity with whistleblowers and defending our right to know

Post author By admin
Post date June 27, 2014

In an interview by US lawyer and Courage Advisory Board member Kevin Zeese for Truthout, Acting Director of Courage Sarah Harrison talks about Courage, why the organisation was started and how it is working to protect whistleblowers.

As well as protecting individual truthtellers, Courage also defends the right to know broadly by “fighting for policy and legal changes to give whistleblowers the protections they deserve”, Harrison explained.

The ethos of Courage is to reflect the courage shown by the truthtellers it serves to protect, showing support and solidarity in spite of risks:

I think it was important to show future whistleblowers that if you come forward and expose wrongdoing, that there are people who will stand with you and help you, no matter what the cost… It is very important to show a sense of solidarity around whistleblowers.

Harrison explained how Courage was borne from her experience of helping NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden to safety and achieving his asylum in Russia:

The Courage Foundation was born from the idea that whistleblowers need protection from prosecution. When we first started to help Edward Snowden, there were many other NGOs and organizations around the world that should have been able to help him; but, when it comes to high risk people with huge persecution from places like the United States, the reality is that to move quickly and robustly to provide the support they need is actually very difficult. So after we helped Snowden, we realized that there was a need for an organization that was able to do this for future Snowdens as well.

Campaigning for asylum and international protections for truthtellers is set to be some of Courage’s core work. Harrison explained why:

It is unrealistic to expect that a country is suddenly going to put in place laws that are really going to protect someone like Snowden who comes forward with such high value classified information. It is better to focus on agreements and conventions between countries that prevent extradition so there is the ability to support a whistleblower from another country somewhere else.

Mr Snowden also reiterated the importance of protections for truthtellers at an international level in his recent testimony to the Council of Europe, 24 June 2014. Referencing the problems he faced in securing a safe haven after disclosing national intelligence of global importance, he said:

it’s critical that we need international mechanisms in these cases to distinguish between the legality of the act on national terms and the propriety of the act on global terms.

In many cases those protections are not provided on a uniform national basis and that raises the question of how our global society can provide an independent, international mechanism for arbitration and redress on matters that are of international public importance

A full transcript of Mr Snowden’s testimony can be found here.

As Mr Snowden’s temporary asylum period in Russia ends, Harrison described it as a ‘critical’ time for people to take action. She invited supporters to take part in the ‘Stand With Snowden’ campaign, recently launched by Courage, to show solidarity with Mr Snowden, and to pressure governments around the world to act and help Snowden to a safe haven.

A full transcript of Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers’ interview of Sarah Harrison can be found at Truthout.

Take Action – #StandWithSnowden

Upload a photo of yourself or your friends, family, and colleagues holding a sign like the one Sarah Harrison is holding below and the many more on our campaign page here. Make sure you mention where you’re from: Courage will formally approach the governments of those countries where the public support for Snowden is strongest to ask them to act.

Tags advisory board, berlin, Council of Europe, courage, courage foundation, defence fund, Ed Snowden, edward snowden, Kevin Zeese, sarah harrison, Snowden, stand with snowden, testimony, whistleblower, whistleblowing

Courage News Edward Snowden News

Courage’s Advisory Board Stands With Snowden

Post author By admin
Post date June 24, 2014

With the official launch of the Courage Foundation and the one-year anniversary of Edward Snowden exposing the truth of covert mass surveillance, the Courage Advisory Board expressed their solidarity with the NSA whistleblower in a wide range of articles, television and radio interviews, press and online videos. The Courage Advisory Board members demonstrated the numerous and varied ways in which people can Stand With Snowden.

Human rights lawyer Renata Avila spoke at the launch of Courage in Berlin: “The key lesson in the case of Mr Snowden is to put back human rights at the core of our priorities.”

John Perry Barlow, co-founder of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, spoke passionately to the Courage launch via video link about his support for Edward Snowden.

John Perry Barlow addressing the Courage launch, Berlin

NSA whistleblower Thomas Drake gave several talks in Europe and featured on a panel discussion on the consequences of Snowden’s revelations at Wau Holland Foundation – listen here.

Daniel Ellsberg, the US whistleblower who famously released the Pentagon Papers, spoke at the Berlin launch of Courage via video link and explains why he Stands With Snowden in this video.

MI5 whistleblower Annie Machon has given a number of talks and interviews throughout the anniversary, and has written about “The Year of Edward Snowden”.

Former CIA Analyst, Ray McGovern was interviewed along with Jesselyn Radack on Russia Today marking one year after the first Snowden disclosure – watch here.

Professor of Law at Columbia University and founder of Software Freedom Law Center, Eben Moglen explains in this video for Courage why he Stands With Snowden.

Digital rights activist Andy Müller-Maguhn spoke at the Berlin launch of Courage, and explains in this video for Courage why Berlin Stands With Snowden.

Writer and activist Sana Saleem explains in this video for Courage why she Stands With Snowden.

US lawyer and activist Kevin Zeese writes for Op Ed News, “Defending Our ‘Right To Know’ With Courage”.

Find out more about the Courage Advisory Board.

Courage News Edward Snowden News

Launch of Courage and Snowden Campaign in Berlin, Wednesday 11th June

Post author By Nathan
Post date June 9, 2014

IMPORTANT NOTE:
We have limited places available for press. if you would like to attend please email courage.event@couragefound.org and we will confirm if you have been able to register successfully.

Courage – LAUNCH PRESS RELEASE – Monday 9th June 2014
http://couragefound.org
@couragefound

Courage – the organisation running Snowden’s defence fund – launches in Berlin this Wednesday, 11th June

speakers include Wolfgang Kaleck, Edward Snowden’s German lawyer; Sarah Harrison, Acting Director of Courage; WikiLeaks Publisher Julian Assange
Edward Snowden – Courage’s first beneficiary – will send a message to the event
a new campaign to show the breadth of international support for Edward Snowden will be announced on the night

Courage, a new international organisation dedicated to providing support to truthtellers, holds its official launch event in Berlin on the evening of Wednesday, 11th June. Courage runs Edward Snowden’s official defence fund. Courage also advocates for the protection of journalists’ sources and the public’s right to receive their information as guaranteed in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Wednesday’s event will also mark the beginning of a new campaign for Edward Snowden as his temporary asylum in Russia approaches its end. Edward Snowden’s German lawyer Wolfgang Kaleck will explain his client’s current legal situation. Sarah Harrison, Acting Director of Courage, who facilitated Edward Snowden’s exit from Hong Kong and spent four months in Russia, including 40 days in Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport securing Snowden’s freedom in exile, will underline the importance of ongoing public pressure.

Courage launches with an advisory board that includes former intelligence whistleblowers Daniel Ellsberg (Pentagon Papers), Thomas Drake (NSA), Ray McGovern (CIA) and Annie Machon (MI5), along with Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mairead Maguire, co-founder of the Electronic Frontier Foundation John Perry Barlow and professor of law and legal history at Columbia University Eben Moglen. For further details on Courage advisory board members, see https://staging.couragefound.org/advisory-board/

Gavin MacFadyen, a Courage Trustee and Director of the Centre for Investigative Journalism, says:

The Trustees started Courage because it is imperative for free speech and an open independent press to support whistleblowers, particularly those who risk their lives and freedom to bring critical information to the public. At the time Courage started there were no international organisations providing the support Edward Snowden needed to remain free and none organising support for whistleblowers to come. Knowing the central role whistleblowers have played in the major ground-breaking disclosures of our time, it is clear that without freedom and protection for truthtellers, there is no freedom or protection for journalists. And none for the public. Courage has never been more needed and essential to a free press.

The other two Trustees of Courage are Julian Assange, Publisher of WikiLeaks and Barbora Bukovská, Senior Director for Law and Policy at Article 19.

The organisation’s launch comes a year after Edward Snowden revealed himself as the source of NSA revelations on mass surveillance and takes place in one of the countries where the reaction has been most significant. In the past week, the German federal prosecutor has announced the re-opening of a formal investigation into allegations that the German Chancellor’s mobile phone was monitored and a parliamentary inquiry into mass surveillance is ongoing.

Sarah Harrison says:

Snowden performed a heroic act and should be supported. Courage will show the world that the public stands with Snowden and they want their governments to help protect him. For the last year people associated with Courage have worked to assist and defend Snowden against injustice. We found him safety and asylum in Russia and we raised funds to pay for his lawyers in the US, Iceland and more widely. But we are just starting – Courage is not here just for Snowden but for future Snowdens.

Additional special guests will be announced on the night. Their comments, as well as those of the others speaking, will be made available on Courage’s website and Twitter feed.

Courage originally began in August 2013 as The Journalistic Source Protection Defence Fund and has run Edward Snowden’s defence fund since that time. Courage’s official Edward Snowden support site, previously located at http://freesnowden.is will move to http://edwardsnowden.com to coincide with the launch. The related Twitter account will also move to @CourageSnowden from @free_snowden.