SARAH OLSON, INDEPENDENT JOURNALIST, FACES PRISON FOR SIMPLY DOING HER JOB
The Center for Media and Democracy today launched Defend The Press, a
new coalition of journalists, public interest groups, academics and citizen
activists. Defend The Press is asking the US Army to drop its subpoena of
Sarah Olson, an independent print and radio journalist based in Oakland,
California, in the court martial of Iraq war resister Lieutenant Ehren
Watada. Olson interviewed Watada in May 2006, and in June he announced he
would not go to war in Iraq, challenging its legality. Watada's Army court
martial begins February 5, 2007, at Fort Lewis, Washington.
Sarah needs your help. Visit the Defend The Press website at
www.DefendThePress.org to support her!
Sarah Olson has been served with a subpoena from the President of the
United States requiring her to be a prosecution witness against Lieutenant
Watada. The subpoena states "failure to appear may result in your being
taken into custody and brought before the court martial." Olson risks
felony charges, jail and a fine if she fails to cooperate.
Sarah Olson recently wrote in an editorial column, "I stand firmly by
a conviction I share with many: a member of the press should never be
placed in the position of aiding a government prosecution of political
speech. This goes against the grain of even the most basic understanding of
the First Amendment's free press guarantees and the expectation of a
democracy that relies on a free flow of information and perspectives
without fear of censure or retribution."
Defend The Press believes journalists should not be forced to
participate in government prosecutions especially prosecutions seeking to
criminalize political speech. Defend The Press supports Sarah Olson and
journalists like her; independent journalists especially need stronger
protection of their rights in the age of the Internet.
If you are outraged by this attack on freedom of the press, get
involved! Visit the Defend The Press website at www.DefendThePress.org to
join the campaign!
Among the dozens of noted journalists and authors participating in
Defend The Press are Noam Chomsky, Phil Donahue, Daniel Ellsberg, Barbara
Ehrenreich, Diane Farsetta, Laura Flanders, Robert McChesney, Greg Palast,
Sheldon Rampton and Howard Zinn. Read what they are saying here.
Defend The Press was founded by the non-profit Center for Media and
Democracy of Madison, Wisconsin, and by Free Press Working Group of
Oakland, California, in the belief that the press cannot function if it is
used by the government to prosecute political speech. Turning reporters
into the investigative arm of the government subverts press freedoms, and
chills dissenting speech in the United States.
If you believe that journalists should serve the public, not
government agendas, visit the Defend The Press website at
www.DefendthePress.org to make your voice heard!
For more information, visit the Defend The Press website at
www.DefendThePress.org, or contact the Center for Media and Democracy by
email at editor AT prwatch.org, or by phone at 608-260-9713.
The Center for Media and Democracy
520 University Avenue, Suite 227
Madison, Wisconsin 53703
Phone: 608-260-9713
Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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