Courage supports every element in the information chain in the process of making news, from source, to reporter, to publisher.
In the last two decades, the ‘war on whistleblowers’, with dozens of Espionage Act prosecutions and prison sentences for leakers since the Obama Administration, has escalated into a full-blown war on journalism, with President Trump indicting Julian Assange in an attempt to secure the first conviction of a journalist for publishing truthful information in modern U.S. history.
The result is a chilling effect, on both reporters and their sources, who reasonably fear decades in prison for speaking up. Journalists need legal protection, support networks, and to know that we’ll have their back when they publish information that challenges the powerful.
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Author and journalist Ali Abunimah arrested in SwitzarlandPalestinian-American author and journalist Ali Abunimah was arrested by Swiss police in Zurich on January 25, where he was to hold a speaking tour. Co-founder and executive director of The Electronic Intifada, an independent not-for-profit media organization, Abunimah was flying to Switzerland to deliver a lecture at an event organized by the Palestine Committee of… Read more: Author and journalist Ali Abunimah arrested in Switzarland
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Multnomah County drops charge against Alissa AzarTrespass charges against journalist Alissa Azar have been dropped by the Multnomah County District Attorney. As we wrote yesterday, the charges were an affront to the First Amendment and capped more than a year of harassment by Oregon authorities on Azar’s right to cover pro-Palestine protests in Portland. Thanks to those who took action writing… Read more: Multnomah County drops charge against Alissa Azar
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Tell the County DA: Drop charges against Alissa Azar!Sign a letter today urging Multnomah County District Attorney to drop trespass charges against an independent reporter
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Senate fails to pass PRESS ActThe Protect Reporters from Exploitive State Spying Act would protect journalists against government surveillance and the forced disclosure of their confidential sources
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Trump’s re-election and the war on journalismDonald Trump is poised to return to the White House, and press freedom groups are sounding the alarm about what his election means for the state of journalism. Courage joins these groups in standing up for truthtellers, for journalists’ right to publish, and for your right to know, regardless of which party is in power.
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“Journalists must be activists for the truth” — Julian Assange testifies before the Council of EuropeAddressing the public for the first time since before his arrest in 2019, Julian Assange spoke today before the Legal and Human Rights Committee of the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly about his prosecution, detention and imprisonment.
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Assange to address Council of Europe human rights hearingOn Tuesday, October 1, Julian Assange will give testimony before the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, ahead of a full plenary debate on this topic the following day. The hearing, which is open to the press, will be livestreamed.
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Press freedom groups call on Biden DOJ to drop Assange charges“We urge you to drop the appeal of the decision by Judge Vanessa Baraitser of the Westminster Magistrates’ Court to reject the Trump administration’s extradition request. We also urge you to dismiss the underlying indictment.”
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Defend Media Freedom: Julian Assange on #HumanRightsDayToday, International Human Rights Day, the Courage Foundation partnered with a coalition of European press freedom groups to publish an advertisement in The Times to spread awareness about and condemn Julian Assange’s persecution and prosecution.
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World Press Freedom Day: The Prosecution of Julian AssangeVideo: On World Press Freedom Day, two Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists and the UK Bureau Director for Reporters without Borders discuss the Trump administration’s indictment of WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange and its unprecedented charges of Espionage for the publication of truthful information in the public interest.
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VIDEO: The Prosecution of Julian Assange and Its Impact on the Freedom of the PressOn 30 January 2020, at the National Press Club’s First Amendment Lounge in Washington D.C., a panel of experts discussed the Trump Administration’s indictment of WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange and the impact Assange’s extradition and prosecution could have on the freedom of the press.
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Media analysis of Julian Assange’s superseding indictmentIn-depth looks at the specific charges, the history of the Espionage Act, the precedent a conviction would set, and more
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Julian Assange charged under Espionage Act in unprecedented attack on First AmendmentToday federal prosecutors unsealed a new, 18-count superseding indictment charging Julian Assange with violating the Espionage Act, the first use of the 1917 law against a publisher.
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Jeffrey Sterling convicted of espionage on circumstantial evidenceGovernment lawyers used a few brief phone calls and a deleted email to prosecute the former CIA official for espionage for allegedly disclosing classified information; convicted of 9 counts, Sterling’s sentencing case is scheduled for 24 April
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German government plans source prosecution as Greens push new whistleblower protection lawReports about an impending German source prosecution show the country is pulling in opposite directions on whistleblower protection
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Whistleblower protection case reaches US Supreme CourtA fired air marshal challenges his removal on the grounds that he disclosed sensitive information in the interest of public safety; a Supreme Court ruling could protect whistleblowers across the board (Updated with ruling)
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British journalists call for an end to “routine” surveillanceA new legal challenge from the Bureau of Investigative Journalism is trying to ensure that UK journalists can protect their sources
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New reports shed light on surveillance’s chilling effectsHuman Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union publish a report detailing the damage that US surveillance causes to American democracy, the latest in a string of similar reports
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UK watchdog warns that terrorism laws threaten journalists and sourcesIn his report to the UK Parliament, David Anderson QC writes that the law “has begun to catch people it was never really intended to catch”
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Australia’s new law would criminalise Snowden reportingAustralia introduces a legislative proposal that evokes the US’s Espionage Act, stokes unfounded fears and criminalises journalism in line with a crackdown on whistleblowing
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How journalists should work with whistleblowersMI5 whistleblower and Courage Advisory Board member Annie Machon took part in a panel at the International Journalism Festival in Turin, discussing the process of working with sensitive documents and a high-risk source in the face of government persecution as well as Courage’s role in protecting whistleblowers
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US ‘Free Flow of Information Act’ targets whistleblowers and independent journalistsThe new FFIA bill delegitimises whistleblowers and independent journalists, in a move towards state-sanctioned journalism.