News Conference: Wife of CIA whistleblower Jeffrey Sterling to deliver petition to the White House

WASHINGTON, Feb. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Reporters Without Borders (RSF), RootsAction.org and ExposeFacts are sponsoring a news conference with Holly Sterling, wife of imprisoned CIA whistleblower Jeffrey Sterling. Holly will deliver her petition to pardon Jeffrey – which has already gathered well over 100,000 signers in recent weeks – to the White House the same day. Speakers will also include RSF's US Director Delphine Halgand; prominent activist, author and professor at Union Theological Seminary Dr. Cornel West; CIA whistleblower and former agency case officer John Kiriakou; Senior Director of Strategy for Free Press Tim Karr; and attorney Jesselyn Radack, director of the Whistleblower and Source Protection Program at ExposeFacts.

Jeffrey Sterling was convicted under the Espionage Act as a source for New York Times reporter James Risen's book "State of War." He began serving his three and a half year prison sentence last June. In December, Holly launched a petition on change.org and on RootsAction.org to ask President Obama to immediately pardon her husband. She will formally deliver the petition to the White House on February 17 at 11:30 am with photo opportunities for the press.

RSF, RootsAction, and ExposeFacts lead a coalition of organizations in support of this petition. The Bill Of Rights Defense Committee/Defending Dissent Foundation, Center for Media and Democracy, Freedom of the Press Foundation, The Nation magazine and Restore the Fourth are also supporting the petition.

Jeffrey Sterling Petition News Conference

February 17, 2016 at 9:30 am EST

National Press Club, Bloomberg Room

529 14^th Street, NW, 13^th Floor, Washington, DC 20045

Please RSVP and address media inquiries to Margaux Ewen: [email protected] or 202-879-9295.

Support Jeffrey Sterling and sign the petition on change.org/pardonforjeffrey or on http://act.rootsaction.org/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=11832 Use #pardonforjeffrey on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to help spread the message.

About Reporters Without Borders

Reporters Without Borders is the largest press freedom organization in the world with 30 years of experience. Thanks to its unique global network of 150 local correspondents investigating in 130 countries, 12 national offices (Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Rio de Janeiro, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia, USA) and a consultative status at the United Nations and UNESCO, Reporters Without Borders is able to have a global impact by gathering and providing on the ground intelligence and assisting news providers all around the world.

SOURCE Reporters Without Borders