Former CIA agent charged of terror leaks

PanARMENIAN.Net - Authorities say a former CIA agent who has claimed he helped interrogate a top suspected terrorist has been charged with leaking classified secrets about fellow officers to the media, AP reports.

The U.S. Attorney's Office says 47-year-old John Kiriakou of Arlington is charged with violating the Intelligence Identities Protection Act and the Espionage Act and is scheduled to make an initial appearance in federal court in Alexandria on Jan 23.

Authorities say Kiriakou told a New York Times reporter about a fellow officer who participated in interrogating suspected al-Qaida financier Abu Zubaydah in 2002. That information was classified at the time.

Zubaydah was captured in Pakistan in 2002. He was reportedly waterboarded 83 times. His case has been made an example by those who believe the interrogation technique should be outlawed.