01x04 - A bigger story

[bunniefuu]

Title: Ze Weten Alles Van Je
ep. 04

Based on a true story
about a missing person.

The people who the journalist interviews are real.
Her experiences are dramatized.

In 2012 Jullian Assange
changed the world...

with the publication of
secret information.

He fled out of necessity to the
Ecuadorian Embassy in London...

where he was dragged out of
seven years later.

In those seven years many
followed his footsteps.

Whistleblower Chelsea Manning was
convicted to 35 years in prison.

Security hacker Adian Lamo died
under strange circumstances.

Hacktivist Aaron Swartz, who also
would get 35 years in prison...

committed suicide.

Hacker and WikiLeaks-associate
Arjen Kamphuis...

has been missing for years.

You have to be a mad man to
continue this line of work.

Our 'American friends' spy
on us non-stop.

The NSA has spent more on
surveillance...

than the GDP of many countries
on this planet.

The amount of jailed t*rrorists
remains stable at zero.

I'm sure there are some countries
or parties...

where there are a lot of
people working...

who are glad Arjen is not
around anymore.

It's just one headache less.

Your phone is getting tapped.

Don't use it anymore.

Nadia I'm sorry, really.

On a certain time Arjen
went to Berlin...

because there was a lively
InfoSec community.

All interesting people in the
field of information security...

where in Berlin
or close by...

Jacob Appelbaum also lives in Berlin.

An American hacktivist who was
a hero for years...

in Arjens world.

Until 2016. Appelbaum got accused
of intimidation...

sexual abuse and r*pe.

His community was divided by this.

I've experienced close by...

how Jacobs image got destroyed in Berlin.

I've got my doubts about the
validity of how it happened.

If I talked about those things
with Arjen...

we could only joke
and shrug our shoulders...

oh well...

Once you connect the dots,
it's so obvious.

How this took place.

I wasn't in the loop...

but rumors circulated about
people...

that there was sexual
abuse and wild parties...

or people who betrayed each other.

Telling things about each other.
So it became a death trap.

If that was deliberately planted
by intelligence agencies...

Well, there is talk about that...

even in that article from Yahoo News.

That it was easier to
stir up trouble...

inside the WikiLeaks-circles,
than to infiltrate.

A lot of people thought:
I'll go do something else, if that's possible.

Personally I don't believe it
for one second.

Appelbaum fore sure has
its weaknesses like everyone else...

I'm not saying he is an angel
and did nothing wrong...

but the way it went...

the professionalism that was involved...

deserves some credit.

Appelbaum is one of the most
controversial figures in the hackersscene.

He hasn't spoken to anyone in the press for years.

But he wants to talk to me.

About Arjen and nothing else.

I don't know if Appelbaum
is guilty or not...

and I'm not going to find out either.

But in the search of Arjen
I could use his expertise.

This is a faraday case,
that blocks all signals,

This is the phone that goes with it.

Ok, thanks.
-You're welcome

It was important for Arjen that
people where informed about...

that they are being tracked.

For most people in their daily
lives...

it's just not that important.

They just think 'I'm just who I am.
What do I have to hide?'

Hi, Jacob Appelbaum?

To keep a democracy in check
you need a good counterforce.

So you can't have a government who's
eavesdropping

in what that counterforce does.

That's like a thorn in the flesh.

They need to be able to
work in a secure environment.

And not under the influence
of those who need to be checked on.

Michawel Isikoff is an American
investigative journalist.

He is one of the authors of that
Yahoo article that explained...

how far the American authorities
wanted to go...

to dispose of WikiLeaks.

Not that long ago
Berlin was a city...

that was burdened under
fear and censorship.

The East-German
Ministry of state security...

better known as the Stasi...

was one of the biggest
mass surveillance organizations ever.

The Stasi knew everything about you.

And didn't hesitate to use
it against you.

It's not going well with the security
of journalists in this country.

On World Press Freedom day the
safety of journalists..

worldwide is examined...

and The Netherlands is
falling behind.

Last year Dutch journalists where
target of intimidation...

threats, violence and m*rder even.

Not only our personal privacy
is at stake.

Our free press is not really
free anymore.

While there is a w*r going on
in Ukraine...

in Russia, it is not allowed to talk about w*r

Journalists get threats, intimidated,
censored...

or imprisoned.

Since 1990, 2658 journalists
where m*rder*d.

I did not forgive you
but I need your help.

Ok, what did you discover?

Somebody give me a USB-stick.
-If it is secured I can crack it.

Just let me help you already.

There is only one way to find out.
Just look what's on it.

What if there is something dangerous on it?
And what if i get in trouble?

If that's their USB-stick and
you put it in a computer, wherever...

you won't get rid of them for
the rest of your life, trust me.

Nadia, maybe you got something bigger
than I thought.

Maybe it's just nothing.
It's NOT nothing.

Hide that thing deep in your bag.
And come home.

They know everything about you.
They got you in their crosshairs.

Please Nadia, come back.

Arjens friends tried everything...

but still don't know what
happened to their friend.

When I got back in The Netherlands,
Jos calls.

He wants to show us Arjens stuff.

Those 4 friends, because of
corona haven't...

haven't seen each other in years.

Hi, everything ok?
-Yes.

Hi.
-You got the items, right?

I've got them.

This is how I received it,
including the filthy plastic bags.

This is the stack they returned?

From the truckers?
-Yes.

So this has to be fjord-sand.

That's all 'as is'.

This is the battery that
belongs in this.

This has lain somewhere it
wasn't supposed to...

as you can clearly see.

Privacy stickers,
no further problems.

Hard disk is missing from here.

Where is it, at the Norse or
Dutch police?

No Idea. I don't have that yet.
-Or was it not there?

I don't know.
-Because he had Tails with him also.

It could be there wasn't even
a hard disk present.

What I just don't get...

there is stuff here that is
wiped on purpose...

things he would never leave
unattended, like his laptop.

An USB-stick, he would never let go of that.

So it seems...

like he had to part with them...

purposely.

Or somebody helped him with that.

But if Arjen wished it would
never be found again...

do you think we would ever find it again?

Basically they pronounced him dead...

and if we piece together the
facts as they are known...

than that conclusion is
way too short.

One of the possible conclusions.
-Absolutely.

But to go for that one,
would be strange.

It's a choice.
-Yes.

The facts they presented
in their report...

if you put that together...

than I'm not agreeing with their conclusion.

but I get it.

In their view...
-Well...

For me it's not enough.

If it where about normal people...

it could be a normal conclusion...

that somebody went kayaking
and had an accident, but Arjen?

Other scenarios are just
as possible.

What's it about?
We don't even know ourselves what's on it.

This is handed over to you by an WikiLeaks allied source.

With whom you've spoken about this?
-Just with you.

But how can it be that the Dutch
Intelligence Agency known about this?

Am I being tapped?
You'll get the USB-stick...

when our colleagues checked
the contents.

We don't even know what's on there.

This is legitimately obtained information.
This belongs to the press.

If you want to play it this way...

than we'll see you in court next week.

We will hear from your lawyers
as soon as possible.

I was right after all.

This is keeping us busy for the next 5 years.

You're not going to be intimidated...
-But they have the power.

They have the patience.

That's a choice.

Or your story is without that USB-stick,
or you don't have a story.

This is exactly what's it all about.

This is exactly what Arjen meant
with everything he...

We are getting silenced even
before...

They don't determine what we can or cannot do,
right?

That doesn't make sense.

Don't destroy everything,
for something you cannot get.

We know we are being monitored.

We know that we reveal everything,
every day.

We know they know everything
about us.

If we try to hide from it...

it piques their interests only more.

As long as it has no direct consequences...

what does it even matter, right?

I am like:

We lost one of the most valuable
people in our time.

Yes.
-I miss him...

even more now.
-Yes.

More and more topics are surfacing
via the media.

I want to see a witty article
about that.

He would have a strong opinion on that.

Yes.
Indeed.

He just did it, asked his awkward
questions...

if another didn't dare.

He would be the one who
did it.

As long as he is not found,
he is not dead, to me.

Yes, same here.
-Yes.

I have that feeling more than ever before.

Now that we are looking at it again.

The more we look at the facts...

the more it could be that
he is still alive.

Yes, likewise.

It's also one of the more beautiful options, right?

Well, as long as there is hope,
you could embrace that.

That's just healthy.

It would be very sad if he is
somewhere...

and in our minds we buried him already.

But it matters.

Because if we can't say those things...

keeping our thought only
to ourselves...

out of fear for consequences
which we are not sure about...

whether they will come or not...

how are we alive still?

Our privacy is the basis
for our Democracy.

The idea we can develop
ourselves in freedom...

without a higher power who
monitors our every step.

If we give everything away,
for comfort...

convenience, security...

but sacrifice all our freedoms...

What is actually left to keep us safe?