Ladies and Gentlemen. It is a honour to be here today to accept the Willy Brant Award for Political Courage for my work with WikiLeaks, in getting Edward Snowden asylum, and for my political statements – many of which have called for Germany’s protection of Edward Snowden and my Editor Julian Assange.
I do not do this work alone however – there are of course others that I work with behind the scenes – our researchers, art and design team, journalist and legal teams, and our dedicated technical team. The successes you honour me with today would not be possible alone and I share this award with them.
I apologise that I am speaking to you in English today. After the welcome and protection I have received here in Berlin it is embarrassing that my German is still too wildly poor to give this speech in your great language. But I thank this city, and particularly the many individuals who have personally assisted me in settling here, for your kindness and support. As I do my parents, who join me here today. Without the unwavering support of my family I wouldn’t have been able to build the strength needed to do this work.
Like me, Willy Brandt worked as a journalist, unable to go home, for a number of years. Escaping the Nazis, Brandt worked as a journalist in exile before finally returning to Germany and entering politics here. Whilst I have no plans to enter politics, I am a journalist at WikiLeaks who, due to legal advice regarding the UK’s misuse of the terrorism act, has been advised not to go home.
My country, the UK, like others around the world at the moment, is using the term “national security” incorrectly as fearmongering in an attempt to justify their stripping us of our rights. Despite the proof that it does nothing to the real, or the more prevalent imagined, threat of terrorism, the UK and other states around the world are spying on their own citizens, violating numerous human rights.
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