February, 04 2015, 09:45am EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Dylan Blaylock,202.408.0034 ext. 137,dylanb@whistleblower.org
CIA Whistleblower John Kiriakou Released to Home Confinement
Kiriakou’s Attorney, Jesselyn Radack, Available for Comment
WASHINGTON
Yesterday, February 3, 2015, CIA whistleblower and GAP client John Kiriakou was released to home confinement after serving nearly two years in federal prison.
In 2007, Kiriakou publicly confirmed the CIA's use of waterboarding and revealed that torture was government policy, not the work of a few rogue agents. He later wrote a book highly critical of the CIA's torture policies. The CIA filed half a dozen unsubstantiated crimes reports against Kiriakou before the Justice Department charged him with violating the Espionage Act. Kiriakou is one of eight people whom the Obama administration has prosecuted under the Espionage Act for alleged mishandling of classified information, more than all past presidential administrations combined.
Faced with incurring millions of dollars in legal fees and up to 45 years of incarceration, away from his wife and five children, Kiriakou pleaded guilty in October 2012 to one charge, in exchange for a two-and-a-half year sentence. The government dropped all four of the remaining charges, including all of the Espionage Act charges, and Kiriakou entered federal prison on February 28, 2013. He will now complete his sentence in home confinement.
"John Kiriakou is a dedicated public servant who became a political prisoner because he brought to light one of the darkest chapters in American history: the CIA's ineffective, immoral and illegal torture program," said Kiriakou's attorney, GAP National Security and Human Rights Director Jesselyn Radack.
"Considering that the last three heads of the CIA engaged in leaks of classified information without being charged under the Espionage Act and that no CIA official who ordered or participated in torture has been criminally punished, it is a welcome development that Kiriakou can serve the rest of his sentence at home with his family."
Kiriakou's conduct during his time in prison speaks to his courage. He has continued to speak out about injustice through "Letters from Loretto" (published on www.firedoglake.com), despite pressure from the government to stop writing. Representative Jim Moran (D-VA) recognized Kiriakou's service, and called him an "American hero" on the floor of the House of Representatives, urging the President to grant him a full pardon.
Kiriakou is not able to give interviews at this time. However, his attorney, GAP's National Security and Human Rights Director, Jesselyn Radack, is available for comment.
The Government Accountability Project (GAP) is a 30-year-old nonprofit public interest group that promotes government and corporate accountability by advancing occupational free speech, defending whistleblowers, and empowering citizen activists. We pursue this mission through our Nuclear Safety, International Reform, Corporate Accountability, Food & Drug Safety, and Federal Employee/National Security programs. GAP is the nation's leading whistleblower protection organization.
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