Sibel Edmonds: Freedom Fighter

AP:

"Also honored Tuesday was Sibel Edmonds, a former FBI translator who was fired from her job in March 2002.

Edmonds has said the FBI terminated her contract after she complained about the quality of translations of terrorism-related wiretaps and reported that another translator was leaking information to targets of investigations.

The Justice Department's inspector general found that the FBI did not take her complaints seriously enough and fired her for lodging complaints about the translation unit. A lawsuit she filed against the FBI was dismissed after the government said it would not release materials supporting her case for security reasons.

Edmonds won the $20,000 PEN/Newman's Own First Amendment Award. She said before the dinner that she thought her receipt of the award would help others see whistle-blowers as "freedom fighters" rather than "disgruntled employees.""

i hate the AP

Reuters (last para):

"Sibel Edmonds, a translator of Iranian descent who was fired by the FBI after she raised allegations of espionage in the agency, was presented with PEN's Newman's Own First Amendment Award for defending free speech in the United States, the organization said."

(thnx calipendence)

update from miguel in the comments:

"AP: "A lawsuit she filed against the FBI was dismissed after the government said it would not release materials supporting her case for security reasons."

Let's reword this an make it more accurate:
'A lawsuit she filed against the FBI was dismissed after the government realized what an embarassment it would be to have the Speaker of the House and several other Congressmen of both parties on trial for taking foreign bribes+.""