WADA Hunting Down China-23-Go-Free Whistleblowers, Says ARD
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is seeking to expose whistleblowers who leaked information about suspected doping cases in China to the German public broadcaster ARD, says the doping unit behind the story as human rights groups slam WADA's "Operation Puncture"
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is seeking to expose whistleblowers who leaked information about suspected doping cases in China to the German public broadcaster ARD, according to the investigators who exposed the China 23-0go-free scandal last year.
Human rights organisations have responded with sharp criticism of WADA's so-called "Operation Puncture".
A report by Hajo Seppelt, Nick Butler, and Jörg Mebus - of ARD's doping editorial team - cite internal WADA documents that they say shows the global regulator to have instigated the hunting down of whistleblowers.
The nature of concern is clear. The Olympic sport realm, anti-doping included, is supposed to have whistleblowing units and procedures in place that athletes, and others, can trust when coming forward with information about corruption, doping and other forms of wrong-doing.
Yet now, those coming forward with information for the media for a variety of reasons, including fear of consequence if they report to official organisations that are themselves under scrutiny, are being hunted down, says the ARD team, as part of the official probe by the WADA investigative department with the consent of WADA president Witold Banka and the organsation's director general Olivier Niggli.
"Operation Puncture"
The story in full, with the links to related coverage below:
Hajo Seppelt, Nick Butler und Jörg Mebus
Video - Secret doping - "The China Files":
Craig Lord
Whistleblowers Yulia Stepanova & Vitaly Stepanov
VIDEO: Whistleblowers in the USA - A Decade in Fear of Russian Retribution
Nick Butler, Lea Löffler, Peter Wozny
Meanwhile, in related new from the wider-world picture, political hypocrisy on China appears to be legion. As AP reports today:
US government allowed and even helped US firms sell tech used for surveillance in China, AP finds
Even while warning about national security and human rights abuse, the U.S. government across five Republican and Democratic administrations has repeatedly allowed and even actively helped American firms to sell technology to Chinese police, government and surveillance companies, an Associated Press investigation has found. And time after time, despite bipartisan attempts, Congress has turned a blind eye to loopholes that allow China to work around its own rules, such as cloud services, third-party resellers, and holes in sanctions passed after the Tiananmen massacre.
