Mark your calendars! The Ft. Collins Center for Peace, Justice, and the Environment is bringing John Kiriakou, a former high-level CIA officer and prominent whistleblower, to Ft. Collins next February. Kiriakou will discuss his experience as a whistleblower and his subsequent prosecution by the US Department of Justice under both the Bush and Obama administrations.

When: Saturday, February 13, 1:00PM.
Where: To be determined
Sponsored By: Ft. Collins Center for Peace, Justice, and the Environment

In 2002, Kiriakou was the Chief of Counterterrorist Operations for the CIA in Pakistan, where he led a successful mission to capture Abu Zubaydah, Al Qaeda’s third ranking leader. Two years later, Kiriakou left the CIA and worked as a senior manager for Deloitte & Touche’s competitive intelligence practice.  Kiriakou’s career took a fateful turn in 2007 when he disclosed details about the US torture program in an interview with ABC News. Within days, the US Justice Department began an aggressive investigation of Kiriakou that spanned five years, continuing through Obama’s first term. In 2012, Kiriakou was indicted on three counts of violating the 1917 Espionage Act and one count of violating the Intelligence Identities Protection Act. To avoid risking a lengthy prison sentence, he accepted a deal and plead guilty to disclosing the name of a CIA operative to a journalist and was sentenced to 30 months in prison, even though the name of the operative was never released to the public. Kiriakou began his prison sentence in February 2013, and was released last February after serving two years.  He now tours the country speaking on issues of whistleblowing, torture policy, and prison reform.

For more information: Contact cdistaso at frii dot com