[Turkey] “Prosecutors looking for ways to contact whistleblower,” Today’s Zaman, November 3, 2009.
Prosecutors conducting a probe into a clandestine group known as Ergenekon are searching for a way to reach a military officer who mailed the original copy of a military plot against the ruling party to an İstanbul prosecutor. The plot is aimed at undermining the power of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and the faith-based Gülen movement.
[UK] Lakhani, Nina, “NHS is paying millions to gag whistleblowers,” The Independent, November 1, 2009.
NHS whistleblowers are routinely gagged in order to cover up dangerous and even dishonest practices that could attract bad publicity and damage a hospital’s reputation. Some local NHS bodies are spending millions of taxpayers’ money to pay off and silence whistleblowers with “super gags” to stop them going public with patient safety incidents. Experts warn that patients’ lives are being endangered by the use of intimidatory tactics to force out whistleblowers and deter other professionals from coming forward. Click here to read more.
[Canada] Brewster, Murray, “Feds refuse legal funding to whistleblower diplomat,” The Canadian Press, October 26, 2009.
The Harper government is refusing to pay the legal bills of a federal official whose warnings of possible torture in Afghan jails sparked a political storm, The Canadian Press has learned. The Foreign Affairs Department gave preliminary approval to Richard Colvin’s request to use an independent lawyer in September. But it now says it won’t pay the first set of bills until his lawyer discloses to the Justice Department who she has been talking with in relation to the case – something that could be a breach of ethical rules.
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