{"id":53258,"date":"2016-10-23T14:47:55","date_gmt":"2016-10-23T18:47:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/?p=53258"},"modified":"2016-10-23T14:47:55","modified_gmt":"2016-10-23T18:47:55","slug":"wikileaks-director-assanges-mentor-gavin-macfadyen-dies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/?p=53258","title":{"rendered":"WikiLeaks director &#038; Assange\u2019s mentor Gavin MacFadyen dies"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_37523\" style=\"width: 910px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/themillenniumreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/580c4e85c46188df708b45dc.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-37523\" class=\"size-full wp-image-37523\" src=\"http:\/\/themillenniumreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/580c4e85c46188df708b45dc.jpg\" alt=\"Gavin MacFadyen \u00a9 tcij.org\" width=\"900\" height=\"500\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-37523\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gavin MacFadyen \u00a9 tcij.org<\/p><\/div>\n<p>RT.com<\/p>\n<p>WikiLeaks director and founder of the Centre for Investigative Journalism Gavin MacFadyen has died at age 76. The cause of death is yet unknown. His \u2018fellows in arms\u2019 have flocked online to post their farewells, including WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c<em>We are extremely sad to announce the death of Gavin MacFadyen, CIJ\u2019s Founder, Director and its leading light<\/em>,\u201d the Centre for Investigative Journalism team wrote on its Twitter.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">We are extremely sad to announce the death of Gavin MacFadyen, the CIJ\u2019s Founder, Director and its leading light. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/F6oAjTtvEu\">https:\/\/t.co\/F6oAjTtvEu<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; The Centre for Investigative Journalism (@cijournalism) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/cijournalism\/status\/789919019646218241?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 22, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>MacFadyen was a pioneering investigative journalist and filmmaker, who back in 2003 founded the Centre for Investigative Journalism (CIJ), an organization that helped break several major stories and has trained a number of prominent journalists.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Gavin Macfadyen was mentor to Assange (and his closest friend in London), to WikiLeaks&#39; Sarah Harrison, Joseph Farrell and many others.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/wikileaks\/status\/789995641338486784?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 23, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>He was a mentor and friend to famous whistleblower and co-founder of WikiLeaks Julian Assange, as well as the director of the publication. Paying tribute to their head, WikiLeaks published a post on the group\u2019s Twitter account saying MacFadyen \u201c<em>now takes his fists and his fight to battle God<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Gavin Macfadyen, beloved director of WikiLeaks, now takes his fists and his fight to battle God. Sock it to him, forever, Gavin. -JA <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/7zyzs1Qxxk\">pic.twitter.com\/7zyzs1Qxxk<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/wikileaks\/status\/789987961123188736?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 23, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The post is signed \u201c<em>JA<\/em>,\u201d indicating that the phrase belongs directly to Julian Assange, with WikiLeaks claiming that, despite the whistleblower being <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rt.com\/uk\/363673-mair-assange-embassy-internet\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"tag\">deprived<\/a>\u00a0of internet access in his suite in the Ecuadorian embassy for a week now, he has been able to contact them and is \u201c<em>still in full command.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.rt.com\/news\/363365-wikileaks-assange-state-dept-internet\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"tag\">READ MORE:\u00a0Pro-Hillary US State Dept \u2018behind Assange internet cutoff\u2019 \u2013 WikiLeaks activist to RT<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The CIJ team also published an address from MacFadyen\u2019s wife and member of Julian Assange\u2019s Defense Fund, Susan Benn, who described her husband as a \u201c<em>larger-than-life person,<\/em>\u201d with gratitude and respect.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c<em>He was the model of what a journalist should be\u2026 He spearheaded the creation of a journalistic landscape which has irrevocably lifted the bar for ethical and hard-hitting reporting. Gavin worked tirelessly to hold power to account.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cHis life and how he lived it were completely in sync with the principles that he held dear and practiced as a journalist and educator \u2013 to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable,<\/em>\u201d Benn <a href=\"http:\/\/tcij.org\/gavin-macfadyen\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"tag\">wrote<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Recounting her husband\u2019s achievements, she said he had produced and directed more than 50 investigative documentaries covering diverse and multiple countries and problems. She also noted that he had been banned from apartheid South Africa and the Soviet Union for his investigative work, and was also attacked by British Neo-Nazis.<\/p>\n<p>In his professional career, MacFadyen shed light on topics like child labor, pollution, the torture of political prisoners, neo-Nazis in Britain, UK industrial accidents, Contra murders in Nicaragua, the CIA, maritime piracy, election fraud in South America, South African mines, as well as many others. He worked on investigative television programs for PBS\u2019s Frontline, Granada Television\u2019s World in Action, the BBC\u2019s Fine Cut, Panorama, The Money Programme, and 24 Hours, as well as Channel 4\u2019s Dispatches.<\/p>\n<p>The cause of MacFadyen\u2019s death has not yet been made public. In the original post from his wife Susan, she wrote that he had died from \u201c<em>a short illness,<\/em>\u201d but that line has now been removed.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Did you know: Gavin Macfadyen was arrested with Bernie Sanders, was a body double for Nick Nolte &amp; was banned from South Africa &amp; the USSR?<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/wikileaks\/status\/789999980652138496?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 23, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<div class=\"rtcode\">Twitter has been full of tributes from his colleagues and like-minded people. Even the hacktivist organization Anonymous has spoken out.<\/div>\n<div class=\"rtcode\"><\/div>\n<p>Earlier this year, MacFadyen gave an interview to RT\u2019s Going Underground program to talk about the publication of leaks related to US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, the most recent of which have been emails from the account of her aid, John Podesta. The barrage of sometimes shocking revelations has proven to be a bit of a thorn in the side for Clinton\u2019s election campaign. In the interview, he said that the documents released so far are merely a drop in the ocean of the information WikiLeaks is receiving, and was hopeful that while \u201c<em>there\u2019s only one known Snowden,<\/em>\u201d there may be other whistleblowers who will keep shedding light on injustice and other major global pain points.<\/p>\n<div class=\"rtcode\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/eQ1vEgL50Sw\" width=\"900\" height=\"500\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"addthis_sharing_toolbox\" data-url=\"http:\/\/www.rt.com\/usa\/363793-gavin-macfadyen-dies-wikileaks\/\" data-title=\"WikiLeaks director &amp; Assange\u2019s mentor Gavin MacFadyen dies\" data-description=\" WikiLeaks director and founder of the Centre for Investigative Journalism Gavin MacFadyen has died at age 76. The cause of death is yet unknown. His \u2018fellows in arms\u2019 have flocked online to post their farewells, including WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange. \">\n<div id=\"atstbx4\" class=\"at-share-tbx-element addthis-smartlayers addthis-animated at4-show\">\n<p>___<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.rt.com\/usa\/363793-gavin-macfadyen-dies-wikileaks\/\">http:\/\/www.rt.com\/usa\/363793-gavin-macfadyen-dies-wikileaks\/<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>RT.com WikiLeaks director and founder of the Centre for Investigative Journalism Gavin MacFadyen has died at age 76. The cause of death is yet unknown. His \u2018fellows in arms\u2019 have flocked online to post their farewells, including WikiLeaks co-founder Julian &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/?p=53258\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-53258","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53258","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=53258"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53258\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=53258"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=53258"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=53258"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}