This is a "WikiLeaks News Update", a daily news update of stories relating directly to WikiLeaks and also freedom of information, transparency, cybersecurity, and freedom of expression.
News
- In Denmark, a scandal over the transfer of Iraqi prisoners by Danish forces who knew the prisoners would be tortured at the hands of Iraq authorities threatens to implicate the current Secretary General of NATO Anders Fogh Rasmussen, a former Prime Minister of Denmark. The defense ministry in his government is now being charged with withholding his knowledge of Iraqi torture from legislators.
This information first became known in 2010, when WikiLeaks released the Iraq War Logs, which contained a memo indicating that prisoners were handed over to Abu Ghraib by Danish soldiers even after an inquiry by "a Danish Defence Ministry official" had confirmed torture took place in the facility.
truthout links to a similar story revealed in the Iraq War Logs: US turned over captives to Iraqi torture squads.
- Bradley Manning’s pre-trial hearing was scripted in advance: Politico released the script to the pretrial, which lays out statements for the Investigating Officer (judge) and Prosecution, and states it was generally adhered to.
- Senior Judge Effron will participate in CAAF’s determination of the writ appeal filed by Julian Assange and WikiLeaks, demanding WikiLeaks lawyers have full access to the entirety of Bradley Manning’s proceedings. Writ appeal petition can be read here.
- Liberté Info updated its Free Assange Campaign with useful tips on how to Support Julian Assange at his Supreme Court appeal (London), on February 1 and 2. (Location: UK Supreme Court, Parliament Square, London. Closest Underground station is Westminster - on Circle, District, and Jubilee lines. Time: 9AM latest.)
- Today WikiLeaks linked, from its twitter account, to an article written by Julian Assange in 2007 on covert CIA-funded torture research and National Security Agency sponsored research for surveillance purposes, titled On the take and loving it, where Julian wrote:
“The NSA and other intelligences agencies do not fund research capriciously. There is no NSA funding for HIV education or tastier ice cream cones. Intelligence agencies fund research that they think will give them an edge or establish a closer relationship with the researchers concerned, gradually co-opting them into financial dependency. (…) In the same way that CIA sponsored research into stress models were used by the CIA to design torture and interrogation techniques, NSA sponsored research into branches of what seem to be pure mathematics are used for global surveillance of communications — the end result of which is to further general U.S. war and intelligence objectives, including handing people over to the CIA for interrogation or torture.
We should not let our lack of imagination about the abstract or arcane deceive us. When a tobacco company funds research into cancer, we may not understand the details, but we know the tocacco company saw something in it for them.”
A link to Julian Assange's US Special Forces counterinsurgency manual analysis, written in 2008, was also shared. (Previously tweeted by WikiLeaks two days ago.)
- Truthdig published an interview with whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg, featured as its first “Truthdigger of the week”.
- The Bradley Manning Support Network placed a Free Bradley Manning billboard up in Washington, DC. Click here to see it. (Link was corrected.)
- Nearly the entire database of Colombian intelligence agency DAS has been leaked, reports WikiLeaks partner in Colombia, Semana.
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Upcoming WikiLeaks Dates
January 7: Edmonton (Canada) - Peaceful Protest To Close Guantanamo & Bring Omar Khadr Home.
January 11: Day of Action Against Guantanamo: A rally will take place in Washington DC, with the presence of Guantanamo historian and WikiLeaks media partner Andy Worthington who will also be attending other rallies across the country.
Similar protests are planned in Canada (Ottawa and Toronto).
January 11: Julian Assange will have been under house arrest without charge for 400 days. Please visit Justice4Assange.com for more information on the extradition case.
January 14: Bradley Manning will have been in prison for 600 days.
January 16: A recommendation on whether Bradley Manning faces court-martial is expected. Final decision has no date set.
January 21: “War on the Internet” panel in Melbourne with Jacob Appelbaum, Bernard Keane, Senator Scott Ludlam and Suelette Dreyfus. More information here.
February 2: Julian Assange’s extradition appeal will be heard by the Supreme Court. Hearing will likely last 2 days. A support demonstration is planned outside of the Supreme Court, starting at 9AM.
April 25-29: WikiLeaks spokesperson Kristinn Hrafnsson and Italian journalist Stefania Maurizi, who has worked on several WikiLeaks releases, will speak at the International Journalism Festival in Perugia (Italy).
May 23: Julian Assange will speak at the Enterprise Information Management Congress 2012 (Netherlands).
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Action Campaigns
WikiLeaks
399 days of unlawful financial blockade.
Julian Assange
396 days under house arrest without charge.
- Show your support for Julian Assange at the Supreme Court of London, February 1st, at 9 AM.
- Nominate Julian Assange and WikiLeaks for the Nobel Peace Prize 2012: campaign website.
- Send at least one of the several call to action draft letters addressed to European organizations and Members of the European Parliament requesting action over the unjust treatment of Julian Assange.
Bradley Manning
593 days detained in military jail.
- I am Bradley Manning campaign website with photos of supporters from around the world. Submit your own!
- A challenge proposed by the Bradley Manning Support Network: Stand with Bradley until his trial is over - pledge a monthly donation for the length of the trial. For more details see bradleymanning.org
Rudolf Elmer
- Liberté Info started a campaign to make whistleblower Rudolf Elmer’s trial an international issue. The campaign page is constantly updated with new developments on his case. Readers are encouraged to share.
