ABSTRACT
These offences too raise a host of political, as well as legal, issues. First and foremost, both espionage and sabotage are generally broadly and vaguely defined offences that are open to political exploitation. In particular, ‘whistleblowing’, and other forms of the leaking of secret or classified official information in order to expose government abuses, can be prosecuted under espionage and official secrets legislation. Sabotage, although more rarely invoked, has the potential to cover acts of resistance and opposition to government policies, especially in the context of anti-war protests, such as occupations of military facilities.
