Tag: andy Müller-maguhn

Courage team members participate in Reddit AMA

Post author By Nathan
Post date April 7, 2015

Courage trustee Julian Assange, acting director Sarah Harrison, and advisory board members Renata Avila, who is an internet rights lawyer, and Andy Müller-Maguhn, on the board of the Wau Holland Foundation, which collects donations for Snowden and Hammond on Courage’s behalf, participated in a Reddit Ask Me Anything session yesterday.

The AMA followed President Obama’s latest Executive Order, which authorises sanctions against ‘cyber-enabled activities’ and which journalists and supporters worry could affect those donating to WikiLeaks and Courage. In response to the order, issued 1 April 2015, Reddit supporters initiated a surge in bitcoin donations to Edward Snowden’s defence fund.

Overall, supporters have given 3.68 BTC to Courage, with 1.07 coming since the EO, and 1604 to Snowden’s fund. Supporters have given Snowden 24 BTC since the EO alone, through 236 separate donations, with the largest being nearly 8.5 BTC – worth $2000.

Questions covered Courage’s various beneficiaries, its goals and the participants’ outlook for addressing secrecy, the crackdown on whistleblowers and countering propaganda.

Harrison spoke about the ultimate effects of Snowden’s whistleblowing:

The long term effects of Snowden’s actions remain to be seen. What I hope is that the public around the world will stand up for their rights and demand change, and their governments will listen to them. I think a lot rests with users understanding the threats and protecting themselves against them.

I think the rest of Edward’s life will forever be complex, as it will for all that have stood up to the most powerful and speak the truth: Jeremy Hammond, Chelsea Manning, Barrett Brown, Julian Assange and many others. However, he has been granted asylum which offers immediate protection. I hope that in the future more countries stand up to protect him, and all those that have worked for the public’s right to know.

Harrison responded to those who say whistleblowers are “traitors” who “support the enemy”:

This propaganda happens a lot. What is very important here is to explain that throughout the whole of the Manning trial the US government was desperate to prove that some “harm” had come. In fact if could prove none. What did happen, is that the US troops began to withdraw from Iraq. What has happened since Snowden’s revelations is that citizens around the world began to protect their communications. And still not one reported “harm”. In fact we still get bombs by known person’s of suspect. It is a matter of US interests the government is protecting, not US security.

Avila discussed how people in under-developed countries can raise awareness regarding whistleblowers and privacy:

Coming from a similar country, I will say that those are precisely the countries where advocates for the right to truth and access to information in hands of the powerful are crucial. You need to directly connect it as follows: the less the people know about their governments, the more opaque they are, the more they colude with corporations and divert their actions and increase the problems distracting funds to their pockets.

Assange explained why Courage is supporting Matt DeHart:

Matt DeHart has been the subject of significant abuse by the FBI, but the case is very important legally as it involves an interplay between asylum, crypto-extradition, deportation, anonymous, WikiLeaks, espionage and pariah charges. You can read more about Matt’s case here: https://staging.couragefound.org/2015/03/matt-dehart-named-as-third-courage-beneficiary/

Assange and Müller-Maguhn also discussed systemic problems.

You can see all of Harrison’s, Assange’s, Avila’s and Müller-Maguhn’s responses, and you can review the full Reddit AMA here.

Finally, M_Cetera has compiled an easy-to-read collection of all the Courage team members’ responses here.

Support the Courage Foundation and its beneficiaries here:

Edward Snowden defence fund

Bitcoin: 1snowqQP5VmZgU47i5AWwz9fsgHQg94Fa

Jeremy Hammond defence fund

Bitcoin: 1JeremyESb2k6pQTpGKAfQrCuYcAAcwWqr

Matt DeHart defence fund

Bitcoin: 1DEharT171Hgc8vQs1TJvEotVcHz7QLSQg

Courage Foundation

Bitcoin: 1courAa6zrLRM43t8p98baSx6inPxhigc

Tags ama, andy Müller-maguhn, assange, avila, bitcoin, btc, dehart, hammond, harrison, reddit, Snowden

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.

Edward Snowden News

Courage launches with Stand With Snowden campaign

Post author By admin
Post date June 12, 2014

Edward Snowden says Courage is “a new rapid response team for global democracy”
Organisation running Edward Snowden’s defence fund launches with new Stand With Snowden campaign to show breadth of international support for the NSA whistleblower
Courage will formally approach governments where the campaign shows public support is strongest and ask them to act

Courage, the international organisation dedicated to the protection of truthtellers, has launched with a new campaign designed to ensure the ongoing safety of its first beneficiary, NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden. The announcement was made during the official launch event for Courage, held on the evening of Wednesday 11 June at Claerchens Ballhaus in Berlin.

The Stand With Snowden campaign aims to demonstrate the popular demand for the NSA whistleblower to be protected exists worldwide and that governments should be taking greater note of it. Edward Snowden’s one year period of asylum in Russia comes to an end on 31 July 2014. Courage will formally approach the governments of those countries where the Stand With Snowden campaign indicates public support for Snowden is strongest to challenge them to act.

Edward Snowden’s German lawyer, Wolfgang Kaleck, spoke at the event, explaining his client’s legal situation and the importance of maintaining public pressure for his protection:

You don’t need a lawyer to tell you what’s happening right now because it’s not law, it’s politics. Every single decision that has to be made in the Snowden case is a highly political decision… What I am asking all of you is: be prepared for a long distance run. He enjoys all the expressions of solidarity, but he and we all know that solidarity might still be necessary one, three, four or five years from now.

Other speakers at the event included Courage trustees Gavin MacFadyen and Julian Assange (speaking by video link), along with Advisory Board members Renata Avila and Andy Müller-Maguhn. John Perry Barlow and Daniel Ellsberg, also members of the Courage advisory board, appeared at the event by video link.

Members of Courage’s Advisory Board, and others including Glenn Greenwald, have submitted a first set of photos and videos declaring that their their country, city or region Stands With Snowden and encouraging others to do the same – all can be seen online at http//couragefound.org/stand-with-snowden/.

Wednesday night’s event also launched Courage as an organisation. In addition to running the official defence fund for Edward Snowden – as it will for others in the future who risk life or liberty to make significant contributions to the historical record – Courage 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.

Edward Snowden sent a video message to the event, now published on Courage’s official Edward Snowden support site, in which he described what the organisation means to him:

It means we, the public, have a new rapid response team for global democracy – that when they see someone facing unjustified retaliation for performing a public service we can stand up, raise the alert and, together, rally to their defence to say that sometimes the only way to push back against unconstitutional programs is to open the doors and let in the sunlight.

Gavin MacFadyen, Director of the Centre for Investigative Journalism and Courage trustee, said:

What is really important is that we provide an overall umbrella for all the people who speak truth to power, who speak the truth and pay, at the ultimate conclusion, a staggering price for what they’ve done.

Julian Assange, Publisher of WikiLeaks and also a Courage trustee, said:

We hope to get to a point where we can turn around a website and appoint a campaign team in 24 hours, to capture that moment where the outpouring of support is at its highest and use that to defend these sorts of people for a decade, or however long we need some form of defence, and thereby encourage others to step forward.

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.