After more than a decade of work dedicated to supporting whistleblowers and truth-tellers primarily in the USA, Courage has gone global. The Courage Foundation has established an international NGO in Brussels, Belgium, named Courage International AISBL. This expansion reflects the growing scope of Courage’s mission in the defence of press freedom, whistleblower protections, and privacy rights in an increasingly complex global environment. We protect and strengthen these rights through public awareness, legal defence, and advocacy at both global and local levels, working with governments, parliaments, international institutions, and civil society.
Commenting on this milestone, our incumbent Global Director, Sunna Ævarsdóttir said:
“Over the years, Courage has stood by people who risked everything to expose what the powerful would rather keep hidden. None of this would exist without Julian Assange and Sarah Harrison, who saw the need for Courage and built it. We are living through a darkening moment. More journalists are being killed than ever before, and the fundamental values they died to defend are under threat in ways we cannot afford to ignore. Truth-tellers deserve an organisation equal to that challenge. We intend to be it.”
Our outgoing Director Nathan Fuller is equally excited about the launch:
“I’m proud of Courage’s history of support for so many of the bravest truth-tellers of the modern era. From Edward Snowden and Julian Assange to Jeremy Hammond and Daniel Hale, we’ve stood by those who’ve risked the most to tell the world what they’ve witnessed. I’m excited to see Courage begin a new chapter today, building on this legacy and adapting to prepare for the next truth-tellers in need, wherever they arise.”
Our first major project reflects these values. We are launching a campaign in support of UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, who was sanctioned by the US government for writing truthful reports about the ongoing genocide of Israel in Gaza. Within the next few days we will announce how you can support Francesca Albanese in action.
Meet our distinguished board of directors:
Kristinn Hrafnsson, Chair
The chair of the board is multi-award winning Icelandic investigative journalist and editor-in-chief of Wikileaks, Kristinn Hrafnsson. Before taking on his role as editor-in-chief in 2018, he served as WikiLeaks spokesperson between 2010 and 2017, and has worked across numerous Icelandic newspapers and television, hosting programmes that exposed corruption and criminal conduct in high places. He gained international recognition for his collaboration with WikiLeaks on the “Collateral Murder” investigation — documenting a 2007 US Apache helicopter attack on civilians and journalists in Baghdad — and his resulting documentary won an International Journalism and Human Rights award. Kristinn is a steadfast advocate for press freedom and government transparency and played a pivotal role in the global campaign to free Julian Assange.
Jennifer Robinson
Jennifer Robinson is one of the world’s most respected human rights lawyers and advocate. A barrister at Doughty Street Chambers in London, she has acted in key international law, human rights and media freedom cases in domestic and international courts. Her diverse and groundbreaking work includes defending WikiLeaks and Julian Assange and securing his release; acting for Amber Heard in relation to Johnny Depp’s unsuccessful defamation claim in the UK; achieving political asylum for West Papuan leader Benny Wenda; and successfully taking climate change to the world’s highest court, the International Court of Justice. Jen co-authored ‘How Many More Women’ (published as ‘Silenced Women’ in the UK) with her colleague, Dr Keio Yoshida. SILENCED, the film based on her book, premiered at Sundance Film Festival in 2026.
Peter Oborne
Peter Oborne is a British journalist, author and broadcaster with a distinguished career spanning four decades. He writes for outlets including Declassified UK, Byline Times, DoubleDown News, openDemocracy and Middle East Eye, and has become a prominent independent voice on press freedom, government accountability and the erosion of public trust in institutions.He is the former chief political commentator of The Daily Telegraph, from which he resigned in early 2015 in protest at the paper’s suppression of reporting on HSBC — a major advertiser — which he described as a compromise of journalistic integrity. He won Press Awards Columnist of the Year in 2012 and 2016, and is the author of several influential books including The Rise of Political Lying (2005), The Triumph of the Political Class (2007), and The Assault on Truth (2021). His most recent book, Complicit: Britain’s Role in the Destruction of Gaza, was published in 2025 by OR Books.
Aitor Martínez Jiménez
Aitor Martínez Jiménez is a Spanish international lawyer and academic. He holds a Degree in Law and a Degree in Political Sciences, as well as four master´s degrees. He also earned a PhD in International Law from Universidad Carlos III of Madrid, where he was awarded with the highest distinction (cum laude). Aitor teaches at various universities in Spain and abroad. As a lawyer, he has handled prominent international cases, including serving as part of the defence team for Julian Assange and representing whistleblower Hervé Falciani. He has also represented worldwide victims of international crimes, such as crimes against humanity, genocide and war crimes. Moreover, Aitor has represented former Latin American heads of state and governments, including Rafael Correa, among others. He has appeared before international bodies such as the Inter-American Human Rights System, the European Court of Human Rights, as well as United Nations committees and special procedures. In addition, he currently acts as Counsel before the International Criminal Court. He is also author of numerous publications in law and political sciences, including serving as editor of a major volume on international criminal law, which features contributions from leading figures such as Benjamin Ferencz, the last living Nuremberg prosecutor, among others.
Giacomo Zucco
Giacomo Zucco is an Italian Bitcoin educator, entrepreneur and activist. A theoretical physicist by training, he worked as a technology consultant before becoming one of the Bitcoin ecosystem’s most prominent voices after discovering the technology in 2012 and 2013. He serves as Director of Plan B Network and is an advisor and investor in a range of Bitcoin-focused projects. A committed libertarian and free speech advocate, he has spent over a decade educating audiences worldwide on Bitcoin’s role as censorship-resistant, sound money and its implications for individual sovereignty and financial freedom.
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