The Courage Board of Trustees are delighted to announce that Naomi Colvin is taking the position of Director of Courage from 4th April.
Naomi has been with Courage since its inception as Case Director. Amongst other work, Naomi led Courage’s successful campaign to prevent the extradition of British-Finnish computer scientist Lauri Love on charges relating to his alleged participation in online political protest. Courage supported and defended Love in his years-long battle to be tried in the UK, which concluded with a landmark High Court ruling in February of this year that greatly reduces the chances of anyone else finding themselves in a similar position.
Courage is now in its fourth year, and in this time has led a number of successful campaigns, including assisting Azerbaijani free press activist Emin Huseynov to obtain asylum in Switzerland. Courage provides support to truthtellers who are at risk and is recognized as an expert in the expanding field of whistleblower and activist protection.
Courage is developing to meet these needs, working with whistleblowers, activists and NGOs in this field to help protect those who are persecuted in the fight for the public’s right to know. The Board is confident that with Naomi’s experience and expertise she can lead us into the important battles ahead.
The Board of Trustees said: “Naomi has proven her expertise and commitment in working with legal teams and on the public defence of our beneficiaries. We look forward to giving her all the support she needs.”
Naomi steps into the position Sarah Harrison left in April 2017 when WikiLeaks became a Courage beneficiary. Since then the Trustees have been working with the team to fill this role, with Sarah continuing in a management role in other aspects of the organisation. As of April 2018 Sarah will be stepping down from all organisational roles as Naomi takes up the position of Director. Sarah will now join the Courage Advisory Board which includes Daniel Ellsberg, Thomas Drake and Mairead Maguire.
Sarah said:
It has been an incredibly exciting and rewarding time with Courage, and I am delighted to be joining the Advisory Board to continue to assist Courage in the coming years. I am confident Naomi will step into this position seamlessly, and whilst I move on to new projects I look forward to seeing what comes next in protecting truthtellers and Courage’s role in assisting them.
Naomi said:
It’s been an enormous privilege to work alongside Sarah over the past four years. Public appreciation of the importance of truthtellers is stronger than it has ever been, and that is due in no small part to Sarah’s contribution.
There is a critical need for an organisation that provides direct support to the whistleblowers, online activists and security researchers who bring inconvenient truths to light to benefit us all. That’s what Courage is here for and it’s an honour to be able to lead this organisation into its next phase.
Courage’s ability to keep winning battles for our beneficiaries and your right to know relies on your support.ย You can help us by following us on Twitter or by making a donation.