Wikileaks says case of Canberra Defence leaker is 'cautionary tale' for whistleblowers
WikiLeaks says the prosecution of a junior Canberra bureaucrat
alleged to have posted secret information online should serve as a
cautionary tale to potential whistleblowers.
The organisation –
which specialises in protecting those who wish to leak government
secrets – urged would-be whistleblowers to seek expert help to disclose
sensitive information.
Department of Defence graduate Michael Scerba, now 24, has been accused of leaking information
that risked serious harm to Australia's national security interests,
and potentially undermined trust and reciprocal intelligence
arrangements with other countries.
Scerba is accused of downloading a Defence Intelligence Organisation
assessment, burning it to a disc, taking it home and posting it to
anonymous image-sharing forum 4chan in October 2012.
His IP address was tracked, and he has now been brought before the ACT Supreme Court.
"If you're going to leak sensitive
documents on the internet, do it right," a WikiLeaks spokesperson said. Photo: Supplied
