Luxleaks: Is whistleblowing a crime?
The Luxleaks whistleblowers are on trial in Luxembourg. They face charges of theft, revealing business secrets and violation of professional secrets. As far as the press is concerned the wrong people are on trial.
Real culprits not in the dock
There's something the judges should know before the Luxleaks trial begins, Libération points out:
“Whistleblowers aren't necessarily the conscience of the world, but they do help us to become aware of the problems of the new century: extreme surveillance, pharmaceutical giants and their mega-profits, financial capitalism that is so powerful that it evades all regulation. ... Whistleblowers are the sand in the works of this machinery that will do everything in its power to grind them to nothing. These sentinels are the first to denounce the restrictions in our shrinking democratic space. They must be protected, and not confused with swindlers and informers. The first step is to remind the judges that the true culprits are not sitting on the dock.”
Don't just praise whistleblowers, protect them!
Whistleblower Antoine Deltour's support committee voices its outrage over the trial on Mediapart's guest commentary blog:
“This is too much! Now it turns out that Deltour is the bad guy, although he's been congratulated on all sides for his courage, and even received the European citizens' prize from the European Parliament? Whatever the outcome of the trial, Antoine's situation raises questions about the fate of whistleblowers. In acting as they do, they facilitate progress on matters that have been neglected or remained secret for too long. But the legislation offers them inadequate protection. Worse still, in the Trade Secrets Directive approved by the European Parliament on April 14, the exemption concerning whistleblowers is sufficiently ambiguous that they could face prosecution despite the protection this clause offers.”