USA: Justice dept appeal in fresh bid for New York Times reporter’s sources

24 Oct 11 | Americas, Index Index, minipost

A New York Times reporter may be forced to reveal his sources, despite a ruling which said his testimony was protected by reporters privilege. On Wednesday, the Department of Justice asked a federal appeals court to force James Risen to testify about his sources in the trial of a CIA officer who was accused of leaking top secret information. In the hearing, federal prosecutors appealed the ruling from a US District court on 29 July that Risen did not have to reveal his sources in the trial of ex-CIA officer Jeffrey Stirling. Risen’s lawyer Joel Kurtzberg has said they will fight the appeal.

 

 

Cuba: Reuters journalist accused of collaborating with CIA

06 Apr 11 | Index Index, minipost, News and features

Cuba has accused a Reuters journalist of collaborating with a US diplomat thought to be a CIA agent. The allegation was made by Cuban state television through a programme “dedicated to uncovering supposed plots against Cuba”.

Dissident Raul Capote claims that he witnessed a meeting between then Reuters bureau chief Anthony Boadle and Mark Sullivan, who was a diplomat in the US Interests Section in Havana. He was accused of being a CIA agent in the programme.

CIA destruction of video tapes documented

20 Apr 10 | Index Index, minipost, Uncategorized

Internal CIA e-mails show the former agency head, Porter Goss, approved a decision by one of his top aides to destroy 92 videotapes documenting the brutal interrogation of two detainees. The emails were released in a document by the American Civil Liberties Union, as part of a freedom of information lawsuit. “These documents provide further evidence that senior CIA officials were willing to risk being prosecuted for obstruction of justice in order to avoid being prosecuted for torture”, ACLU lawyer Ben Wizner said.

UK: MPs take on CIA over rendition secrets

18 Dec 09 | Index Index, minipost, News and features

A group of MPs has launched legal action against the CIA in a landmark legal case in the United States in an attempt to force the authorities there to release thousands of pages of files about the extraordinary rendition of Islamic terrorist suspects. The group – led by Conservative MP Andrew Tyrie – has filed a complaint in a district court in Washington DC after Freedom of Information requests in the US and UK were rejected or where information released was incomplete or heavily redacted. Read more here