[tor-talk] Our Response — In Solidarity with Jacob Appelbaum and on the Side of Justice for All

[Octarina]

  Our Response


    In Solidarity with Jacob Appelbaum and on the Side of Justice for All

We, the undersigned, are a group of women who have been friends,
colleagues, co-workers or partners of Jacob "Jake" Appelbaum over many
years.

We have decided that we must speak out due to the nature of this
coordinated and one-sided attack on his character and work. It has
become clear the mainstream media are unwilling to fact-check, and only
too willing to persist in spreading uncorroborated and unfalsifiable
rumor. This statement is to give our positive experiences with Jake from
our first-hand, long-term perspectives, over many public and private
situations.

We do not claim to know what happened in precise situations that we were
not present for, and we do not want to trivialise and minimise any pain
that may have been caused. But we are observing – beyond the
allegations, that are not for us to comment on specifically – an
egregious character assassination is being played out with numerous
defamations online and offline. This is not how the truth can be
determined, or justice for anyone done, whether law enforcement is to be
trusted or not.

We would like to state that our experiences with Jake are different than
what is often being portrayed. We know Jake to be a kind, loyal and
dedicated person. We do understand Jake can be outspoken and provocative
regarding a number of issues – which can come across as offensive –
however, we have never found Jake to be as is being alleged.

We are not apologists for any genuine wrongdoing, and as women working
in this community we know that there are struggles around sexism.
However, simple punitivism is not how the human rights that we all
defend should be enforced or framed.

We believe that an open and evidence-based discussion in this situation
is necessary to allow our community to develop better processes to
handle any allegations. Furiously targeting one person without allowing
for proper fact analysis will never solve the bigger structural problem
that has been highlighted. We should use this moment to grow and make
things better, not destroy the movement and create divisions. We need to
create a channel for discussions on how to make things better.

We stand in solidarity with Jake against the way this is being handled
and on the side of justice for all, in hope the truth on all sides will
be able to come to light in a rational and constructive manner.

*Signed* on 11th June 2016

  * Renata Avila, Human Rights Lawyer
  * Susan Benn, Artist
  * Cathleen Berger, Policy Advisor
  * Geraldine de Bastion, Policy Expert
  * Annegret Falter, Political Scientist
  * Marie Gutbub, Journalist
  * Sarah Harrison, Journalist
  * Christy Lange, Writer
  * Isik Mater, Infosec Specialist
  * Angela Richter, Theatre Director
  * Felicity Ruby, PhD Candidate
  * Joana Varon, Lawyer

The authors of this statement, released on Saturday 11th June 2016, are
all women who have known Jake for many years. We know that there are
many to whom this will not specifically apply, but do believe there
needs to be a positive agenda around sexism and gender issues in our
community, so any harm can be dealt with justice and due process.

We therefore invite all others to add their names to this list (using
the below contact details) to show their agreement with the spirit of
this letter - solidarity with Jake in how this is being handled, on the
side of justice for all, and in belief of the need to develop a safe
space for accessing the issues to enable building open and transparent
guidelines to deal with sexism and gender issues within our infosec and
digital rights communities.

Please use the following contact to sign your name to this statement, as
well as sending any other constructive comments.

Email: dueprocess at riseup.net
Key ID: 3D1CEF58
Key Fingerprint: 2A1D 7685 7AF0 ADD5 F3E5 D5B0 748C FAE0 3D1C EF58

SIGNATORIES in solidarity with Jake in how this is being handled, on the
side of justice for all, and in belief that a true safe space for all is
needed

  * Jan Bultmann, Seattle Privacy co-Founder
  * Katherine Da Silva, Artist/Writer
  * Ursel Kooke, Ehemalige Vorsitzende und Errichterin der Wau Holland
    Stiftung/Previous Chairman of the Board and Founding person of the
    Wau Holland Foundation
  * Stefania Maurizi, Investigative Journalist
  * L. Monastyrski, Academic Researcher
  * Nicole Running Rabbit, Indigenous Land Rights Defender