A federal grand jury in Old Town Alexandria is scheduled to hear testimony from witnesses this morning on the government’s ongoing criminal investigation into Julian Assange, reports NPR.

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Prosecutors are working toward building a case against the WikiLeaks founder, whose website has leaked secret State Department cables revealing an unfiltered view of U.S. diplomacy and nuclear concerns.

The case against Assange is just one in a surge of criminal cases involving leaks of government secrets currently sought by the Obama administration.

“For people who are concerned about freedom of the press, access to national security information, it’s a worrisome development,” says Steve Aftergood, who writes for the blog Secrecy News, and has been following five separate prosecutions.

“Leaks serve a very valuable function as a kind of safety valve,” he adds. “They help us to get out the information that otherwise would be stuck.”

Assange received the Australian Peace Prize for "exceptional courage in the pursuit of human rights," on Tuesday, from the Sydney Peace Foundation. 

READ THE FULL STORY at NPR.org.