Ep. 291: The bravery of whistleblowers

Guest: Jeffrey Sterling, former CIA agent

According to Fuad Alakbarov, the Azerbaijani-Scottish human rights activist, “Every country needs its whistleblowers.

“They are crucial to a healthy society. The employee who, in the public interest, has the independence of judgement and the personal courage to challenge malpractice or illegality is a kind of public hero.”

Brave heroes to be sure. Take the example of Dr Ai Fen, the Director of the Emergency Department at the Central Hospital in Wuhan, who shared information about COVID-19 with other doctors in late December. Dr Ai and the others have since been arrested or their whereabouts are unknown, according to the Times of Israel.

According to the University of Southampton, if China had intervened at that time, the transmission of COVID-19 could have been reduced by 95 percent. The government of China hid the truth. At great risk to themselves, people stand up to the suppression of the truth, be it in China or any other country where those in power seek to conceal the facts.

In the United States, the Whistleblower Protection Act was enacted in 1989 - an act that many whistleblowers say provided them with little or no protection. Former CIA agent Jeffrey Sterling in his book, “Unwanted Spy,” says the very act of carrying out his duty to report wrongdoing cost him his job and eventually his liberty.

What started as a discrimination complaint turned into allegations of leaking confidential information that led to jail time. He has since been released from prison and continues to shine a light on government wrongdoing.

Thanks to the support of the Allard Prize for International Integrity, we were able to arrange an online interview with Jeffrey Sterling for a Conversation That Matters about the overwhelming need to protect the brave women and men who simply can not turn their heads away from an injustice.