UK Government: Don’t extradite Julian Assange!
JVL Introduction
Julian Assange is at the final stage of appeal against extradition: In the various related articles below you can read more about the circumstances of his alleged “crime” and the cruelty with which he has been treated. This statement by Amnesty sums up the threat to Assange and to media freedom everyone. Meanwhile the UN Special Rapporteur on torture urges UK government to halt Assange’s imminent extradition and she says: “Julian Assange suffers from a long standing and recurrent depressive disorder. He is assessed as being at risk of committing suicide. In the United States, he faces numerous charges, including under the Espionage Act of 1917 for alleged unlawful releases of diplomatic and other cables and documents via WikiLeaks. If extradited, he could be detained in prolonged isolation while awaiting trial, or as an inmate. If convicted, he could be sentenced to up to 175 years in prison….The risk of being placed in prolonged solitary confinement, despite his precarious mental health status, and to receive a potentially disproportionate sentence raises questions as to whether Mr. Assange’s extradition to the United States would be compatible with the United Kingdom’s international human rights obligations, particularly under article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, as well as respective articles 3 of the UN Convention against Torture and the European Convention on Human Rights.” (our emph)
Please get to the Court if you can.
LL
This article was originally published by Amnesty International on Tue 13 Feb 2024. Read the original here.
UK/USA: Global media freedom at risk as Julian Assange back in UK court facing possible extradition to USA
In advance of Julian Assange’s next hearing in the UK courts ahead of his possible extradition to the US, Amnesty International reiterates concerns that Assange faces the risk of serious human rights violations if extradited and warns of a profound ‘chilling effect’ on global media freedom.
“The risk to publishers and investigative journalists around the world hangs in the balance. Should Julian Assange be sent to the US and prosecuted there, global media freedoms will be on trial, too,” said Julia Hall, Amnesty International’s expert on counter-terrorism and criminal justice in Europe.
“Assange will suffer personally from these politically-motivated charges and the worldwide media community will be on notice that they too are not safe. The public’s right to information about what their governments are doing in their name will be profoundly undermined. The US must drop the charges under the espionage act against Assange and bring an end to his arbitrary detention in the UK.”
If Julian Assange loses the permission to appeal, he will be at risk of extradition to the US and prosecution under the Espionage Act of 1917, a wartime law never intended to target the legitimate work of publishers and journalists. He could face up to 175 years in jail. On the less serious charge of computer fraud, he could receive a maximum of five years.
Assange would also be at high risk of prolonged solitary confinement in a maximum security prison. Although the US has offered ‘diplomatic assurances’ to the UK, allegedly guaranteeing his safety if imprisoned, the authorities’ assurances include so many caveats that they cannot be considered reliable.
“The US assurances cannot be trusted. Dubious assurances that he will be treated well in a US prison ring hollow considering that Assange potentially faces dozens of years of incarceration in a system well known for its abuses, including prolonged solitary confinement and poor health services for inmates. The US simply cannot guarantee his safety and well-being as it has also failed to do for the hundreds of thousands of people currently imprisoned in the US,” said Julia Hall.
Worldwide threat to media freedom
If Julian Assange is extradited, it will establish a dangerous precedent wherein the US government could target for extradition publishers and journalists around the world. Other countries could take the US example and follow suit.
“Julian Assange’s publication of documents disclosed to him by sources as part of his work with Wikileaks mirrors the work of investigative journalists. They routinely perform the activities outlined in the indictment: speaking with confidential sources, seeking clarification or additional documentation, and receiving and disseminating official and sometimes classified information,” said Julia Hall.
News and publishing outlets often and rightfully publish classified information to inform on matters of utmost public importance. Publishing information that is in the public interest is a cornerstone of media freedom. It’s also protected under international human rights law and should not be criminalized.
“The US’ efforts to intimidate and silence investigative journalists for uncovering governmental misconduct, such as revealing war crimes or other breaches of international law, must be stopped in its tracks.
“Sources such as legitimate whistle blowers who expose governmental wrongdoing to journalists and publishers must also be free to share information in the public interest. They will be far more reluctant to do so if Julian Assange is prosecuted for engaging in legitimate publishing work.
“This is a test for the US and UK authorities on their commitment to the fundamental tenets of media freedom that underpin the rights to freedom of expression and the public’s right to information. It’s not just Julian Assange in the dock. Silence Assange and others will be gagged,” said Julia Hall.
Background:
The High Court in the UK has confirmed a two-day hearing on 20 and 21 February 2024. The outcome will determine whether Julian Assange will have further opportunities to argue his case before the UK courts or if he will have exhausted all appeals in the UK, leading to the extradition process or an application to the European Court of Human Rights.
We’ll hear a lot about the sad case of Aleksei Navalny in coming days. But I wonder how many of those decrying his fate will draw any parallels with the fate of Julian Assange.
It does appear that the public generally are either not aware of Julian Assange’s situation or are unclear about how serious this is, and not just for him but for us all.
He hasn’t been charged with anything yet he has been in Belmarsh High Security Prison for 5 christmases.
He was given the all information by Chelsea Manning which showed the war crimes committed by the US and Snowden who exposed the surveillance on us all. Wikileaks then put this info out for us all to see, otherwise it would still be hidden. He’s a political prisoner and the U.K. is doing the US’ bidding here.
The trial was a travesty of justice. Outrageous what went on in our so called Courts of Justice! Don’t let our government nor the US get away with this. We are doomed if we don’t fight back before it’s too late.
You can apply to listen to the court case on line and you’ll experience the outrageous way the court behaves.
Total hypocrisy to shout about how others treat their political prisoners whilst Assange rots in an English prison!
The extradition of James Earl Ray for the assassination of Martin Luther King does not bode well for this extradition either.
Ray was framed and denied a trial. When he appealed for a trial, the request was considered by Judge Preston Battle who very conveniently died of a heart attack before he could give his ruling.
Several years later, Judge Joe Brown got taken off the appeal case for stating that Ray’s rifle was not the murder weapon and that Ray was not the assassin.