Panel Discussion: »Whistleblowing«

Corruption, insider trading, human rights violations, war crimes, misuse of data: in the public interest, whistle-blowers like Reality Winner, Julian Assange and Edward Snowden disclose abuses or crimes kept secret by businesses or politicians for various reasons. In doing so, these whistle-blowers often take considerable personal risks. Among large parts of the public, they enjoy a high reputation or are even celebrated as heroes. Other people, however, brand them as traitors, persecute them, defame them or bring them before the courts for betraying secrets. The information they publish is often sensitive, relates to explosive topics and can damage the reputations of individuals, companies and states. In many cases, the moral legitimacy of a whistle-blower’s disclosures and the public support they receive for revealing them is offset by the illegality of their specific actions. There is, therefore, a wide gap between justification and legal consequences. In some countries, whistle-blowers enjoy special legal protection; in others, they are particularly at risk.
Tina Satter’s production »Is This a Room«, based on the FBI transcript of the interrogation following the arrest of whistle-blower Reality Winner, presents an opportunity to talk about the political and legal implications of the whistleblowing phenomenon and theassociated ambivalence regarding the rule of law.

Interpreters: Lilian Astrid Geese and Vivi Bentin