Witness K lawyer Bernard Collaery wins international free speech prize

Lawyer earns the UK's Blueprint for Free Speech whistleblowing prize for his efforts exposing Australia's spy operation in Timor-Leste

The Australian lawyer Bernard Collaery has won a prestigious British free speech prize for his efforts exposing a secret Australian operation to bug Timor-Leste's fledgling government during sensitive oil and gas negotiations.

Collaery is still being pursued by the Australian government through the criminal courts and, if convicted, the barrister and former ACT attorney general faces jail for allegedly sharing protected intelligence information.