our network
Jesselyn Radack
Director, National Security & Human Rights, Government Accountability Project
Whistleblower and former ethics adviser to the United States Department of Justice
“[Jeremy Hammond] performed an act of civil disobedience out of a deeply held belief that the people have a right to know what the government and unregulated corporations are doing behind closed doors against them. He is a patriot who only sought to provide transparency and expose the surveillance crimes being perpetrated on the American people.”
Daniel Ellsberg
Former United States Military Analyst who, while employed by the RAND Corporation, precipitated a national political controversy in 1971 when he released the Pentagon Papers.
“As the first person prosecuted in the US for unauthorised disclosure, I continue to be a supporter for the need for whistleblowing to maintain a constitutional republic and avoid grave governmental abuses. My decision to go public with the Pentagon Papers was a difficult one. At my own risk, I released them, just as Jeremy Hammond has done. I believe the actions taken by Jeremy Hammond need to be viewed in a context that considers the profound consequences of private surveillance of political activists in the United States.”
Gabriella Coleman
Wolfe Chair in Scientific and Technological Literacy, McGill University
“Hammond knowingly took a risk for a political cause he passionately embraced and has taken responsibility for his actions. If justice is to be served the courts must distinguish between principled activity and nefarious, criminal acts. He has already spent enough time behind bars; time served is sufficient punishment.”
Baher Azmy
Legal Director, Center for Constitutional Rights
“The CFAA [Computer Fraud and Abuse Act] was drafted in order to address and deter self-interested or malicious hacking or theft of computer services and systems. However, it has been increasingly used – and in our view, abused – by federal prosecutors in order to target socially-conscious activists who choose to leak sensitive information to media organisations in an effort to highlight corporate or government wrongdoing… There can be little doubt that Mr Hammond acted for political purposes, not for financial gain or with venal intent. He leaked information to the media in the interest of greater transparency for the American public on the issue of unlawful surveillance by corporations. For this act of conscience, he has already endured 19 months of pre-trial detention.”
Johanna Fernandez
Professor of History, Baruch College
“I applaud young people who dedicate themselves to learning, teaching and working on behalf of social justice as Jeremy has done throughout his life. It is a tragedy of our time that so many young lives are destroyed by overreaching prosecutors bent on dissuading others from uncovering the truth.”
Michael Ratner
President Emeritus, Center for Constitutional Rights
“WikiLeaks, as well as numerous other publishers and journalists, have published important stories based on documents that were obtained from Stratfor (Strategic Forecasting Inc.) by Mr Hammond. Those documents, for the first time, gave the American people and others in the world a picture of the malevolent part that private intelligence corporations play in surveillance of legally and constitutionally protected activities and the activists involved. This is a role that they often appear to do hand in glove with our own or other governments… The Stratfor documents have now given us the understanding that the private intelligence companies may be a bigger problem for civil liberties than our own government and it is those companies we ought to be suing as well.”
Birgitta Jónsdóttir
Icelandic Member of Parliament
“If Jeremy Hammond would have been found guilty of the crimes he is alleged to have committed in Iceland, his actions would have been considered an act of bravery. His maximum sentence would have been counted in months, not decades.”
Andy Bichlbaum
Activist, Filmmaker (“The Yes Men”)
“It is absurd to me that the DOJ picks on people like Jeremy, while corporate and military criminals wreak havoc on the world and get away with mass murder.”
Heidi Boghosian
Executive Director of the National Lawyers Guild
“Jeremy’s treatment by the government, unfortunately, is in line with that of other political prisoners where guilt, innocence, proportionality, and the constitution itself are disregarded in the pursuit of politicised convictions.”
Stefania Maurizi
Investigative journalist for the Italian magazine, L’Espresso
“I teamed up with news outlets around the world to research and publish stories based on the Stratfor files database, and wrote several articles on the back of it including how Stratfor analysts view Italian politicians like the former PM Mario Monti or controversial leader Silvio Berlusconi. The material was in the public interest, throwing up newsworthy stories such as an alleged indictment against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. It is also important because it provides a unique insight into the methods, sources and values of a private intelligence company and its close links to government agencies.
“As a journalist who worked on Stratfor files, I feel I have duty of care to Jeremy Hammond. He released information in the public interest, he did not sell it. For him to face 10 years in jail, while CIA agents involved in rendition and torture, are free as the air – I do not call this justice.”
Roy Singham
Chairman of ThoughtWorks, a global IT consultancy where open-data crusader Aaron Swartz was employed at the time he committed suicide while facing prosecution under the CFAA
“Innovation happens when people are experimenting at the edges of their social, intellectual and technological abilities. When you charge Aaron Swartz or Jeremy Hammond with computer crimes you are scaring away some of the smartest young people from thinking about issues that actually matter, and that has a massive chilling effect.
“I’m disappointed about the silence of the tech industry over this case. You don’t hear the tech giants coming out and condemning what happened to Aaron or what is now happening to Jeremy, which I consider an abuse of state power.”
Kevin Gallagher
Director, Free Barrett Brown
“No doubt, the Stratfor emails made available as a result of Hammond’s actions have benefited scores of journalists and resulted in numerous stories. They are frequently cited as a source by outlets on all sides of the political spectrum. We are now better informed and able to make decisions as a population because of them. In particular, we know more about the activities of private intelligence firms, which frequently receive government contracts and taxpayers’ dollars, because of Jeremy…What I understand of Jeremy’s personality and character makes him very respectable and admirable to me. He is someone who cares about humanity and improving the state of affairs. He is passionate about advancing the interests of the common people and their rights, in the face of powerful corporations and governments.”
Vivien Lesnik Weisman
Filmmaker
“Jeremy Hammond is a political dissident. He violated the CFAA in order to make a political statement. His motivation was not personal or pecuniary enhancement. He wanted the public to know about the criminal behavior that our government colludes to keep out of our reach. When Rosa Parks refused to sit in the back of the bus she did so knowing she was in violation of the law. Similarly, Jeremy Hammond knowingly violated the law in order to expose greater criminality. He is oft quoted saying that he must work quickly before the government stops him. This is not a statement made by someone who is unwilling to take responsibility for his acts.”