Silencing Leaks

Silencing Leaks

(The Guardian 2010)

Wikileaks has survived every legal (and illegal) attack, including ones from the US and Chinese governments as well as many powerful corporations (Wikileaks n.d.). Activist groups such as the international pirate party and many powerful supporters have been crucial in the survival of wikileaks (Beyer 2013, p.4). A clear issue affecting the future of organisations like Wikileaks and whistleblowing in general is the treatment by authorities of activists like Julian Assange, Bradley Manning and Edward Snowden.

“When we all have access to information, we are strong. When we are strong, we possess the power to do the impossible – to make a difference, to better our world. This is why government is moving on wikileaks, this is what they fear. They fear our power when we unite” – Anonymous (Beyer 2013).

(Consciouslifenews 2013)

Julian Assange was granted asylum by Ecuador and is holed up within the Ecuadorian embassy in Britain where he is under the threat of being arrested if he leaves. He believes if he was to be arrested he would be prosecuted by the US and may face the death penalty (Neuman 2013). Many people within political circles have called for Assange to be assassinated and wikileaks to be classified as a terrorist organisation. 

(Compliance Campaign 2013)

According to Assange, Bradley Manning is a hero. Manning has been sentenced to 35 years imprisonment for leaking over 700,000 files and documents to wikileaks. He was found guilty of espionage. Civil libertarians see this as a dangerous precedent being set for the treatment of whistleblowers and could have severe ramifications for future activism (Lewis 2013). This gives some insight into what Assange could expect if he was arrested.

(Eagle Rising 2013)

Whistleblower Edward Snowden who leaked documents when working for the US government is being assisted by Assange as he tries to obtain asylum within another country. US have been somewhat effective in restricting Snowden’s ability to speak out and are keen to prosecute him for espionage.  He currently has asylum in Russia but is trying to gain asylum in Brazil in a tradeoff for information in relation to US spying.

The way these activists/whistleblowers have been treated does have me pondering; are all whistleblowers now at serious risk due to the result in Manning’s trial? Will governments and corporations win the war and silence whistleblowers/activists? What future is there for whistleblowers/activists?

Also, is it important Julian Assange remains protected and continues to get asylum? Is he a hero? His belief in the right for everyone to know and have freedom to access information that display gross human rights abuses as well as display corruption worldwide has changed our world forever. Whether wikileaks does survive or not, it has changed the landscape of journalism and people’s awareness surrounding their governments and large corporations forever. It is still very hard to see where this is heading, the battle between whistleblowers and the US government continues.

 

References:

Bella, P 2013, ‘Edward Snowden should be arrested and prosecuted’, The Washington Times, 10 June, viewed 19 January 2014, <http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/middle-class-guy/2013/jun/10/edward-snowden-should-be-arrested-and-prosecuted/>. 

Beyer, J 2013, ‘The emergence of a freedom of information movement: anonymous, wikileaks, the pirate party, and Iceland, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, pp. 1-14.

‘Bradley Manning’ [image], Compliance Campaign 2013, compliancecampaign.wordpress.com, viewed 19 January 2014, < http://compliancecampaign.wordpress.com/tag/bradley-manning/>. 

Drury, I 2010, ‘Wikileaks founder Julian Assange will release poison pill of damaging secrets if killed or arrested’, Mail Online, 6 December, viewed 19 January 2014, < http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1335888/WikiLeaks-Julian-Assange-release-damaging-secrets-killed-arrested.html>. 

‘Edward Snowden: hero or traitor’ [image], Eagle Rising 2013, eaglerising.com, viewed 19 January 2014, < http://eaglerising.com/3546/edward-snowden-dark-prophet-snubbed-poy/>. 

‘Julian Assange: do you want to keep a secret’ [image], Consciouslifenews 2013, What does the law mean if there are secret interpretations in secret courts?, Conscious Life News, viewed 4 January 2014, <http://consciouslifenews.com/assange-law-secret-interpretations-secret-courts/#>.

Lewis, P 2013, ‘Bradley Manning given 35-year prison term for passing files to wikileaks’, The Guardian, 22 August, viewed 19 January 2014, < http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/21/bradley-manning-35-years-prison-wikileaks-sentence>. 

McFarland, K 2010, ‘Yes, wikileaks is a terrorist organisation and the time to act is now’, 30 November, viewed 19 January 2014, < http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2010/11/30/yes-wikileaks-terrorist-organization-time-act/>. 

Neuman, W 2012, ‘Ecuador grants asylum to Assange, defying Britain’, The New York Times, 16 August, viewed 19 January 2014, < http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/17/world/americas/ecuador-to-let-assange-stay-in-its-embassy.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0>.

Owen, P & Watt, J 2013, ‘Edward Snowden offers to help Brazil over US spying in return for asylum’, The Guardian, 18 December, viewed 19 January 2014, <http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/17/edward-snowden-brazil-spying-asylum>.

Wikileaks n.d., About wikileaks, Wikileaks.org, viewed 4 January 2014, http://wikileaks.org/About.html>.

‘Wikileaks, the Guardian’ [image], The Guardian 2010, Wikileaks to release video of deadly US Afghan attack, Theguardian.com, viewed 4 January 2014, <http://www.theguardian.com/media/2010/jun/16/wikileaks-us-military-afghanistan-garani>.