I’ve just learned that a friend, former CIA officer John Kiriakou, has been charged with violating the US Espionage Act of 1917. According to the New York Times, he faces up to 30 years in jail.

Kiriakou was the first CIA official to talk openly about the US policy of waterboarding ‘high value targets’ in the War on Terror.

His crime, apparently, lay in revealing the identities of two employees involved.

Now, I don’t know whether that’s true (he’s certainly never revealed the identities of any undercover operatives to me), and I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not up to speed with the intricacies of Kiriakou’s case. But it does seem to me unjust that a man who did not take part in ‘enhanced interrogation’ (widely acknowledged as constituting torture) is currently facing a lengthy stint in prison when those who did take part – and especially those who made the decision to pursue the policy itself – face no charges at all.

Kiriakou has five children – one just five months old. His legal defence is likely to cost in excess of $500,000. According to the Times his wife, an analyst at Langley, has been summarily dismissed from her post.

Please take a look at the following sites. It costs nothing to click ‘LIKE’ on the facebook page and to suggest to your friends that they do the same. I’m sure that John will be heartened to learn that people here in the UK, and around the world, are taking an interest.

http://www.defendjohnk.com/

https://www.facebook.com/DefendJohnKiriakou