2/6 Press Release About Josh Wolf

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FEBRUARY 6, 2007
3:15 AM

CONTACT: Free Josh Wolf
Linda Foley, President, The Newspaper Guild/CWA
202-434-1261
Lucie Morillon, Washington Director, Reporters Without
Borders
202-256-5613
Christine Tatum, President, Society of Professional
Journalists
303-881-8702
Sarah Olson, independent journalist
415-298-5573
Julian Davis, Free Josh Wolf Coalition
415-823-3250

Josh Wolf Becomes Longest Jailed Journalist in US
History

SAN FRANCISCO, California - February 6 - Josh Wolf,
named northern California's 2006 journalist of the
year by Society of Professional Journalists, broke the
record for the longest amount of time a reporter has
spent in jail protecting his sources. Journalist and
professional organizations are denouncing his
continued imprisonment.

"The 169th day of Josh Wolf's incarceration marks
another alarming milestone in the struggle for press
freedom in post-9/11 America," said Linda Foley,
president of The Newspaper Guild/CWA. "What was once a
cherished constitutional mandate that journalists
operate free from government interference increasingly
has come under attack."

"Josh is fighting a brave battle that an increasing
number of journalists in the U.S. are facing today,"
said Jerry Zremski, president of the National Press
Club. Chillingly, many journalists must battle to keep
their reporting from becoming a tool that prosecutors
can use to further their cases."

"Keeping Wolf in jail is absurd and cruel," said Lucie
Morillon, Washington director at Reporters Without
Borders. "It is a bad signal sent to the rest of the
world. We would have expected a democratic country
such as the United States to put the bar higher
regarding press freedom."

"Josh should be protected by the California shield
law, and this should never have become a federal case.
He has neither broken the law, nor been convicted of a
crime," said Sarah Olson, an independent journalist
recently subpoenaed by the U.S. Army. "The Department
of Justice should release Wolf from prison
immediately."

The 24-year-old independent journalist sold his
footage of a 2005 San Francisco demonstration to the
nightly news. The broadcast attracted the attention of
local and federal law enforcement agents who later
served Wolf a federal subpoena requiring his
unpublished video footage and testimony. When he
refused to comply he was charged with contempt of
court and incarcerated.