Open Letter in Defence of Wikileaks (draft for comments)

1. Open Letter in Defence of WikiLeaks Journalists
We the undersigned journalists and human rights defenders
cannot remain silent while our colleagues and professions
are under attack.
We deplore the actions taken by Google against WikiLeaks
journalists Sarah Harrison, Joseph Farrell and Kristin
Hrafnsson as political persecution of journalists and
journalism.
We believe that free societies everywhere are best served
by journalism and publishing that holds governments and
corporations to account and guarantees citizens’ right to
know. Such work is not espionage or terrorism; it is
journalism.
Our work cannot be done without privacy and freedom from
fear of political persecution or retaliation.
Search and seizure orders to obtain full, retroactive
access to all private communications of journalists are
not only disproportionate, they amount to political
persecution.
Journalists and citizens expect not only legal, but also
ethical behavior from Internet service providers.
Despite its supposed commitment to freedom of opinion and
expression, Google appears to have provided all email
content, metadata, contacts, draft emails, deleted emails
and IP addresses connected to journalists accounts
without protest.
There is also no indication that Google fought the gag
order, unlike Twitter has done many times. It is also
unclear why Google redacted the search warrant before
sending to WikiLeaks 2 years after the fact.
We, the undersigned demand that:
1. The US government closes its criminal investigation of
WikiLeaks, its staff and members;
2. Google provides a full disclosure as to what
information was disclosed and a prompt response to its
users as to why it collaborated in an investigation of
espionage against journalists;
3. Google exercises its legal right to challenge gag
orders in search and seizure warrants against a public
interest group, journalist organization, lawyer or law

2. firm.
General information:
Magistrate Judge John F. Anderson, the same prosecutor
that issued the arrest warrant for Edward Snowden, issued
the search and seizure warrants for WikiLeaks journalists
Harrison, Hrafnsson and Farrell.
Document #1: Search & Seizure Warrant for Sarah Harrison,
Investigation =
Editor of WikiLeaks https://wikileaks.org/google-
warrant/227-harrison.pdf
Document #2: Search & Seizure Warrant for Joseph Farrell,
Section Editor =
of WikiLeaks https://wikileaks.org/google-warrant/228-
farrell.pdf
Document #3: Search & Seizure Warrant for Kristinn
Hrafnsson, =
Spokesperson of WikiLeaks https://wikileaks.org/google-
warrant/229-hrafnsson.pdf
The investigation against WikiLeaks is condemned by
journalists and human rights/free speech organizations.
In June 2014, over fifty press freedom and human rights
organizations including Human Rights Watch, Reporters
Without Borders, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation
wrote to Attorney General Holder calling on the Justice
Department to end its investigation against WikiLeaks,
observing that it criminalizes the newsgathering process
and puts all editors and journalists at risk of
prosecution. Read the June 2014 open letter from over
fifty press freedom organizations to AG Holder from June
2014:
http://www.article19.org/resources.php/resource/37599/en/
letter-to-eric-holder-in-support-of-wikileaks