Columbia University warns students against Wikileaks

December 6th, 2010

Students at the US’s Columbia University have been warned that reading or sharing information from the Wikileaks Cablegate documents could jeopardise employment prospects with the State department and other government agencies. The email from the Office of Career Services told students that “Engaging in these activities would call into question your ability to deal with confidential information, which is part of most positions with the federal government.” Full text of email

From: Office of Career Services Date: Tue, Nov 30, 2010 at 3:26 PM Subject: Wikileaks – Advice from an alum To: “Office of Career Services (OCS)” Hi students, We received a call today from a SIPA alumnus who is working at the State Department. He asked us to pass along the following information to anyone who will be applying for jobs in the federal government, since all would require a background investigation and in some instances a security clearance. The documents released during the past few months through Wikileaks are still considered classified documents. He recommends that you DO NOT post links to these documents nor make comments on social media sites such as Facebook or through Twitter. Engaging in these activities would call into question your ability to deal with confidential information, which is part of most positions with the federal government. Regards, Office of Career Services

US-Iranian scholar gets 12 years over election protests

October 21st, 2009

Kian Tajbakhsh, an American-Iranian academic, was sentenced to at least 12 years in prison on 20 October for his alleged role in anti-government protests following President Ahmadinejad’s disputed re-election. He was arrested on 9 July, and was the only US citizen detained in the government’s post-election crackdown. Despite appeals for his release, notably from US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Tajbakhsh received the longest prison sentence yet handed down in the mass trial of more than 100 opposition individuals. Tajbakhsh’s lawyer plans to appeal the conviction. (Guardian, BBC)