As part of the Cyprus Diaspora Forum® 2026, held on 8 May at the AMARA Hotel in Limassol, Cyprus, delegates were treated to an exclusive fireside chat featuring one of the most controversial and compelling figures in modern intelligence and investigative journalism. In conversation with international business strategist Philip Ammerman, former CIA counterterrorism officer and whistleblower John Kiriakou shared extraordinary insights into national security, intelligence, ethics, government accountability, and the personal cost of exposing the truth.

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A former CIA counterterrorism officer, senior investigator for the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and counterterrorism consultant for ABC News, Kiriakou played a pivotal role in the 2002 capture of Abu Zubaydah in Pakistan, then believed to be Al-Qaeda's third-ranking leader.

In 2007, Kiriakou became the first CIA officer to publicly confirm the agency's use of torture during the War on Terror, revealing that enhanced interrogation techniques had been authorised at the highest levels of the US government. His decision to speak out made him one of the most prominent whistleblowers of his generation. Prosecuted under the Espionage Act during the Obama administration, he served 23 months in prison for exposing information that sparked international debate on human rights, transparency, and the limits of state secrecy.

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During this thought-provoking discussion, Kiriakou reflected on his remarkable career, the moral dilemmas faced by intelligence professionals, the realities of global security, and the enduring importance of accountability, integrity, and freedom of the press in democratic societies.

John Kiriakou is the author of eight books, including The Reluctant Spy: My Secret Life in the CIA's War on Terror, Doing Time Like a Spy, The Convenient Terrorist, and The CIA Insider's Guide to the Iran Crisis.