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Espionage Act Defendant Asif Rahman Will be Held in Pre-Trial Detention
Institute for Public Accuracy
The U.S. government claims that CIA analyst Asif Rahman’s alleged disclosure of Israel’s reported plans to attack Iran caused it to delay the attack.
Defending Rights & Dissent, a national civil liberties organization, just put out their latest “Gaza First Amendment Alert,” which provides timely updates on attacks on free speech, including: “With Trump Allies Plotting Deportation of Activists, Right Wing Zionist Group Turns to Facial Recognition to Identify International Students.”
The group states: “District Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles ruled that Espionage Act defendant Asif Rahman will be held in pre-trial detention. This marks the first time pretrial detention has been granted in an Espionage Act case in the Eastern District of Virginia. Rahman is accused of releasing two top secret documents about Israeli plans to strike Iran. According to the U.S. government, this disclosure caused Israel to delay its strike.”
Gibbons said today: “Based on pure speculation the government claimed Rahman was ideologically motivated and therefore more dangerous than other defendants. If taken to its logical conclusion, it would mean the government believes whistleblowers who act out of the public interest are a greater threat than spies who betray their country for financial gain.” The group notes: “Rahman is indicted under a section of the Espionage Act that has been used against journalists, journalists’ sources, and whistleblowers. He is not charged under separate sections of the Espionage prohibiting disclosing information to a foreign government or agent.
“Wednesday’s decision overruled a Magistrate Judge’s decision last week that Rahman should be released. The reversal is part of a national trend in which the government is seeking pretrial detention in cases of media leaks. It comes at a time when many expect the incoming Trump administration to escalate the government’s already aggressive pursuits of journalists’ sources.”
https://accuracy.org/release/espionage-act-defendant-asif-rahman-will-be-held-in-pre-trial-detention/