20210729 Anklage verlangt Exempel an Whistleblower

Prosecutors call for 9 year sentence

We had reported several times about the arrest and indictment of Daniel Hale, one of the three drone whistleblowers from the documentary "National Bird". The prosecution wants to make an example with this trial to deter other military personnel.

The United States government urged a federal court to sentence drone whistleblower Daniel Hale to at least nine years in prison for disclosing documents to a reporter.

Prosecutors maintained Hale joined the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGA) to steal classified information so he could “ingratiate himself” with journalists. They even submitted secret evidence for the court alleging the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) “distributed” two of the documents in a “guidebook for its followers.”

“For those like Hale, who unilaterally decide to disclose classified information, the existence of criminal penalties that are theoretically harsh but practically lenient is not sufficient,” prosecutors declare in their sentencing memorandum. “It is particularly important to deter those who, like Hale, might be tempted to gain access for the sole purpose of disclosing it. Such individuals must see that using positions in the intelligence community for self-aggrandizement will be harshly punished.”

“A significant sentence is necessary to demonstrate that the unauthorized disclosure of classified information is a serious crime with significant consequences,” prosecutors add.

We know Daniel Hale from the documentary "National Bird" and we know that the insinuations of the prosecution and the public prosecutor's office are made up out of thin air. Daniel Hale has seen things in his work that belong in the public eye and has told journalists about them. Not those who expose war crimes should be brought to justice but those who commit them and even more so those who order them!

Kommentar: RE: 20210729 Anklage verlangt Exempel an Whistleblower

Why was Daniel Hale Silenced? Daniel Hale must be pardoned!
We raise our voice in deep concern on the silencing and imprisonment of Daniel Hale. Daniel Hale did not commit a crime.
It is outrageous that Daniel Hale was charged, prosecuted and sentenced to 45 months in Federal prison for exposing a criminal program. Daniel Hale should be pardoned!
Daniel Hale leaked documents that revealed extremely high civilian death rates in U.S. drone attacks. The 33-year-old Air Force veteran first spoke out publicly against drone warfare in 2013. Daniel Hale's whistleblowing also uncovered secret U.S. watch lists, Presidential drone kill lists, and other criminal and unethical aspects of the U.S. deployment of killer drones.
Since the Nuremberg Tribunal we have been taught that "just following orders" is not a defense. Soldiers, even in time of war, have a moral obligation to oppose illegal orders in every possible way, especially the killing, for any reason, of non-combatants.
Daniel Hale revealed that a U.S. government "kill chain" targeted its victims for extrajudicial execution based on minimal evidence and that, in one 5 month period in Afghanistan, 90% of the people killed in drone attacks were not the intended targets. NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden explained that that showed that the majority of those killed were “innocents, bystanders, or not the intended target. We couldn’t have established that without Daniel Hale’s voice.” Daniel Hale felt a responsibility to oppose these criminal acts.
With much publicity we are told that U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Iraq are withdrawing. But attacks on defenseless civilians through U.S. drone wars and economic sanctions are intensifying.
Daniel Hale felt deeply that the people in the U.S. have a right to know the crimes committed in their names. We also have a responsibility to raise our voices in opposition to these continuing wars and to the sentencing of Daniel Hale. The war criminals who authorize the use of thousands of drone strikes and other criminal killings should be prosecuted.
Initial signers of the above statement: Code Pink, Ban Killer Drones, International Action Center, Peace Action New York State, "Rising Together!", Upstate NY Coalition to End the Wars and Ground the Drones, Wisconsin Coalition to End the Wars and Ground the Drones, Brandywine Peace Community, Philadelphia, Occupy Beale Air Force Base, The Nuclear Resister, Fellowship of Reconciliation USA, Veterans for Peace New York City Chapter 34, United National Antiwar Coalition
What you can do to help: Sign the Petition for a pardon for Daniel Hale: https://www.codepink.org/danielhale

Unac, 29.07.21 23:28

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