Today, November 15th 2013, Jeremy Hammond was sentenced to a maximum ten years in jail, with three years of supervised release thereafter.
On 14 October 2013, before the sentence was given by Judge Loretta Preska, a letter was signed by editors and journalists around the world that attested to the importance of the material Hammond was allegedly the source of. This letter was sent to Judge Preska and asked for leniency in the disproportionate possible sentence. Judge Loretta Preska however failed to show any leniency, ignoring the consequences of setting a precedent for prosecution of journalistic sources, as well as the criminality that the leaks reveal. This letter is published today by WikiLeaks.
Jeremy Hammond is a young activist and computer programmer who was accused of being the source of emails from the private global intelligence firm Strategic Forecasting, or Stratfor. The emails revealed information on a broad range of issues, including a US Department of Homeland Security report on tracking of Occupy Wall Street and Stratfor spying on Bhopal activists. In May 2013, Jeremy pleaded guilty to one count of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, reducing his possible maximum sentence to a still hugely disproportionate ten years.
Today, Hammond was sentenced to the maximum ten years in jail, followed by 3 years of restricted release. During those three years Hammond’s actions will be supervised and he will be prevented from using internet security tools such as Tor and encryption, and will not be allowed to associate with any civil disobedience organisation.
Letter of support for Jeremy Hammond from world media
Further information:
Jeremy Hammond’s full statement to the court
Jeremy Hammond Support Group