The US blogger whose record 226 days in federal prison stirred debate about who qualified as a journalist and what legal protections journalists should receive, was freed Tuesday after releasing video footage sought by prosecutors about an anarchist protest.
Josh Wolf, 24, had been held at the Federal Detention Centre in California, for 226 days after refusing to turn over unedited footage and to testify to a federal grand jury investigating vandalism to a police car during a July 2005 protest in San Francisco.
Defence lawyer David Greene told the Associated Press that Wolf posted online the unaired videotape that he had refused to give federal authorities. Greene told AP that the government, in turn, agreed not to call Wolf to testify before the grand jury. Federal prosecutor Jeffrey Finigan said in court papers that the government now considers Wolf to have complied with the grand jury subpoena, AP reported.
The deal came a day after the defence and prosecution met in a private mediation session. Wolf was freed after Judge William Alsup approved the deal.
Asked about his imprisonment — the longest-ever for a US journalist for withholding information —Wolf said, “Absolutely, this was worth it. I would do it again if I had to.’’ He also said his case showed the need for a federal shield law that would protect journalists, including bloggers, from having to disclose confidential sources or unpublished material.
Wolf had filmed an anti-G-8 demonstration with the intention of posting the footage on his website, which contains commentary, news, and video clips dating back to January 2005. He posted an edited version of the protest footage and sold portions of the footage to a San Francisco television station.
Wolf was found in contempt of court and jailed by Judge Alsup on August 1 for refusing to testify and give up the full videotape. He was in the California prison from then until Tuesday except for three weeks of release in September during an unsuccessful appeal.
Wolf said he plans to go to Congress and lobby for a shield law that would protect bloggers and independent journalists as well as media employees. “We shouldn’t have government deciding who is or isn’t a journalist,’’ he said.
“We’re very relieved by news that Josh Wolf was finally released from federal prison, and we are looking forward to speaking with him,” said Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) Executive Director Joel Simon. “The prosecution has expended large amounts of time, money, and effort on this case, and we are very concerned about the long-term implications for the press.”
“The release of Wolf is obviously excellent news, because it puts an end to a flagrant injustice. However, this is only a half-victory. The federal court has no doubt abandoned the idea of making Josh testify and of compelling him to name his sources, but the journalist has nonetheless been forced to disclose unpublished material,” Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) said.
