Cruel and unusual punishment: the trial of Julian Assange
JVL Introduction
Charles Glass writes here about the campaign against Julian Assange and WikiLeaks, which dates back to 2006 when he and his friends created it – attracting sources around the world to entrust them, securely and anonymously, with documents exposing state crimes.
The audience for the documents was not a foreign intelligence service, but the public.
Governments, however, wanted to “protect” the public from knowledge of what they were doing behind closed doors and in the skies of Afghanistan and Iraq. They set out to stop Assange.
We are, as Charles Glass reports, approaching the denouement of that campaign.
This article was originally published by The Intercept on Tue 6 Oct 2020. Read the original here.
The Unprecedented and Illegal Campaign to Eliminate Julian Assange
Assange would never receive a fair trial in the U.S., but he’s not receiving one in Britain either.
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Shocking. Distressing. Barbaric. Who says we live in a civilised democracy when the powers that be are cruel and inhuman?
The vile treatment of Julian Assange shames everyone in the British political and judicial system who hasn’t spoken out against it. The BBC and their journalists are particularly cowardly for actually attempting to keep information AWAY from the public who pay them, when their remit is the exact opposite.
How utterly useless are Starmer and Johnson who can see the vindictive torture that we and the US are inflicting upon Assange yet they sit on their hands and in Starmer’s case, actually facilitate it.
British Justice – it’s a myth.
https://mikopeled.com/2020/10/04/register-for-the-online-event-the-trial-of-julian-assange-october-15-2020
Thank you Charles for that report.
“Given that Assange collaborated with the New York Times, The Guardian, El País, and Le Monde”
So, how are the most honourable Guardian- newspaper and journalists- and the ‘impartial ‘ BBC covering the case?
“Between 2008 and 2013, [Keir Starmer] was Director of Public Prosecutions and responsible for the Crown Prosecution Service. According to Freedom of Information searches by the Italian journalist Stefania Maurizi, Sweden tried to drop the Assange case in 2011, but a CPS official in London told the Swedish prosecutor not to treat it as “just another extradition”. In 2012, she received an email from the CPS: “Don’t you dare get cold feet!!!” Other CPS emails were either deleted or redacted. Why? Keir Starmer needs to say why.”
https://dorseteye.com/keir-starmer-and-many-others-must-answer-for-julian-assanges-incarceration-and-attempted-extradition/
The Grauniad’s ability to look in the other direction, while this mock-legal travesty continues, is hypocrisy of the highest order, given that they benefitted from the WikiLeaks scoop. Evidently the resulting ‘oversight’ they have from UK’s secret service is working well – one might even surmise this would encourage them to undermine any radical left wing politician who had gained widespread support from us plebs.
While there has been a complete silence from the MSM and the Labour Party about the Assange case, where are the loud voices from the Left? I have heard nothing from Corbyn,McDonnell,Abbott,Butler or have they made statements which have been silenced? Why has no-one raised this issue in Parliament?
Who will be next?
‘Why has no-one raised this issue in Parliament?’
Hmm, you really should check things out first before making categorical statements that are completely wrong Gregory. And given that you obviously DIDN’T, how COULD you make such a categorical statement anyway?! I was aware of the debate at the time – mainly as a consequence of the flak that Diane received for defending Julian and standing up for him – and a simple search just now took me about five seconds to find it!
‘Diane Abbott on Julian Assange 11/04/2019’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jS1fVkyYF-4
And here’s just ONE example of how the corporate media and the rabid right ‘responded’ to Diane:
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/8846940/diane-abbott-sparks-fury-defending-julian-assange/
PS And you’ll find that Jeremy and John HAVE spoken out about Julian’s plight… And on more than one occasion!
PS It’s tantamount to dissembling disinformation Gregory, disinformation soley aimed at the Left.
I know about previous statements from Abbott etc.,but that was a long time ago,but what about NOW?
Well if that’s the case Gregory, why didn’t you say so, instead of giving the distinct impression that there had been no support for Julian from the LP, full stop. Perhaps I can remind you of what you actually said:
While there has been a complete silence from the MSM and the Labour Party about the Assange case….
On reflection though, I think what you meant to say was not ‘case’, but ‘extradition hearing’.
Well, there was THIS, but as far as I’m aware, the whole of the MSM completely blanked it:
Jeremy Corbyn and former heads of state demand freedom for Julian Assange
https://www.thecanary.co/global/world-news/2020/09/21/jeremy-corbyn-and-former-heads-of-state-demand-freedom-for-julian-assange/
One of the best summaries of a litany of injustices against Assange. Thank you Charles.