WASHINGTON: CIA Director Mike Pompeo on Thursday called WikiLeaks a “hostile intelligence service,” using his first public speech as spy agency chief to denounce leakers who have plagued US intelligence.
Pompeo, in an address at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank, called WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange “a fraud” and “a coward.”
“It is time to call out WikiLeaks for what it really is, a non-state hostile intelligence service often abetted by state actors like Russia,” Pompeo said.
He said Russia’s GRU military intelligence service used Wikileaks to distribute material hacked from Democratic National Committee computers during the 2016 US presidential election.
US intelligence agencies have concluded that Russia stole the e-mails and took other actions to tilt the election in favor of eventual winner Donald Trump, a Republican, against Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.
Pompeo and President Donald Trump, who chose him to head the CIA, have not always been so critical of WikiLeaks. During a campaign rally last October, Trump praised the group for releasing hacked e-mails from the DNC by saying, “I love WikiLeaks.”
In July, Pompeo, than a Republican member of the House of Representatives, mentioned it in a Twitter post referring to claims that the DNC had slanted the candidate-selection process to favor Clinton. “Need further proof that the fix was in from Pres. Obama on down? BUSTED: 19,252 Emails from DNC Leaked by Wikileaks.”
WikiLeaks has published secret documents from the US government and others and says its mission is to fight government secrecy and promote transparency. Pompeo said it has “encouraged its followers to find jobs at CIA in order to obtain intelligence.”
Assange has been holed up in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London since 2012, after taking refuge there to avoid extradition to Sweden over allegations of rape, which he denies.
Two of Assange’s lawyers and a Wikileaks spokesman did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Pompeo’s remarks.
Pompeo’s speech on Thursday follows a series of damaging leaks of highly sensitive CIA and National Security Agency material.
In March, WikiLeaks published thousands of pages of internal CIA discussions that revealed hacking techniques the agency had used against iPhones, Android devices and other targets.
Pompeo also had harsh words for Edward Snowden, the former National Security Administration contractor who downloaded thousands of documents revealing some of the electronic eavesdropping agency’s most sensitive programs and shared them with journalists.
“More than a thousand foreign targets, people, groups, organizations, more than a thousand of them changed or tried to change how they communicated as a result of the Snowden disclosures,” Pompeo said. “That number is staggering.”
US intelligence agencies have struggled to deal with “insider threats” — their own employees or contractors who steal classified materials and, in some cases, publicize them.
In response to a question, Pompeo disputed Russia’s account of a chemical weapons attack in Syria that prompted retaliatory cruise missile strikes by Trump last week.
Moscow has said that Syrian rebels, rather than the Syrian government, were responsible.
“None of the (accounts) have an ounce of truth in them,” Pompeo said, calling Russian President Vladimir Putin “a man for whom veracity doesn’t translate into English.”
CIA chief calls WikiLeaks a ‘hostile intelligence service’
CIA chief calls WikiLeaks a ‘hostile intelligence service’
UN experts concerned by treatment of Palestine Action-linked hunger strikers
- Eight prisoners awaiting trial for alleged offences connected to the group have taken part in the protest
LONDON: UN human rights experts have raised concerns about the treatment of prisoners linked to Palestine Action who have been on hunger strike while on remand, warning it may breach the UK’s international human rights obligations.
Eight prisoners awaiting trial for alleged offences connected to the group have taken part in the protest, reported The Guardian on Friday.
Among them are Qesser Zuhrah and Amu Gib, who were on hunger strike at HMP Bronzefield from Nov. 2 to Dec. 23, and Heba Muraisi, held at HMP New Hall. Others include Teuta Hoxha, Kamran Ahmed and Lewie Chiaramello, who has refused food on alternate days due to diabetes.
Zuhrah and Gib temporarily resumed eating this week because of deteriorating health but said they plan to resume the hunger strike next year, according to Prisoners for Palestine.
In a statement issued on Friday, UN special rapporteurs, including Gina Romero and Francesca Albanese, said the handling of the prisoners was alarming.
“Hunger strike is often a measure of last resort by people who believe that their rights to protest and effective remedy have been exhausted. The state’s duty of care toward hunger strikers is heightened, not diminished,” they said.
Three of the prisoners were in hospital at the same time on Sunday, with Ahmed admitted on three occasions since the hunger strike began.
The experts said: “Authorities must ensure timely access to emergency and hospital care when clinically indicated, refrain from actions that may amount to pressure or retaliation, and respect medical ethics.”
Prisoners for Palestine has alleged that prison staff initially denied ambulance access for Zuhrah during a medical emergency last week, with hospital treatment only provided after protesters gathered outside the prison.
“These reports raise serious questions about compliance with international human rights law and standards, including obligations to protect life and prevent cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment,” the experts said, adding: “Preventable deaths in custody are never acceptable. The state bears full responsibility for the lives and wellbeing of those it detains. Urgent action is required now.”
Families and supporters have called for a meeting with Justice Secretary David Lammy, while lawyers claim the Ministry of Justice has failed to follow its own policy on handling hunger strikes.
Government officials are understood to be concerned about the prisoners’ condition but cautious about setting a wider precedent.
