Whistleblowing

CIA Whistleblower Jeffrey Sterling Close To Death In Federal Prison

Jeffrey Sterling, one of the most recent victims of the U.S. government’s war on whistleblowers, may be at risk of dying in a Colorado prison.

In an interview published Tuesday in The Colorado Independent, the wife of the CIA whistleblower warned that his health is failing due to inadequate medical care at FCI Englewood, the federal prison where he is serving a sentence of three-and-a-half years.

“I’m concerned my husband may die,” Holly Sterling told the Independent’s Corey Hutchins. “I’m extremely concerned.”

In May 2015, Jeffrey Sterling was convicted on nine felony charges, including seven charges of violating the Espionage Act, for revealing information about Operation Merlin, a secret CIA operation carried out under President Bill Clinton to undermine Iran’s nuclear program.

However, as Shadowproof’s Kevin Gosztola noted in October, the evidence against Sterling was largely circumstantial. “At trial in January, the government presented no emails showing Sterling and Risen had ever communicated about ‘Operation Merlin’ or even classified information,” he reported.