Is this the last hope for Assange – and all our freedoms?
JVL Introduction
Julian Assange has been treated with extraordinary cruelty for his work publishing the leaks passed on by Chelsea Manning. This is a vital issue for Press Freedom, for the right of the public to know the truth of what governments are doing – in our name – and much more. Here two people from Reporters without Borders outline their concerns about Julian Assange’s treatment and the potential impact that his extradition would have on all of us.
This week (20th and 21st February) may be the final stage for Assange before the UK government may extradite him to the USA and we make no apologies for publishing another piece about his plight. A further appeal to the European Court of Human Rights is possible but we know how warm this government is towards the ECHR. There are concerns that if the extradition order is upheld this week then the extradition may be done before the ECHR hears the case. If he is extradited, he would then spend time in solitary confinement and charges that could lead to a 175 year prison sentence – and in a court where there have been no acquittals on these sorts of charges. He has already spent 13 years of his life without his freedom, including five years in Belmarsh prison where he remains. As the authors conclude “It remains to be seen whether the British judiciary will deliver some form of justice at this late stage by preventing extradition, or whether the UK will become the country that enables a historically damning blow to press freedom, and the right of all of us to know.”
LL
This article was originally published by The Guardian on Sun 18 Feb 2024. Read the original here.
We have seen Assange’s plight in a UK prison, but extraditing him this week would be a disaster for us all
It is vital not to forget about the man – and the repercussions for press freedom if the high court says he can be sent to the US
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ILLUSTRATIONS
It is a truth, acknowledged by an absence
that not all imprisonments are equal. A Russian one
is massive, while a British incarceration is scarcely
worth a paragraph. Those climate types are criminals,
like miners during the miners’ strike, or peaceniks,
calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. There were ten arrests
on Saturday. More, if you include beggars, benefit
cheats, and claimants. Asylum seekers, foreigners.
Refugees, who didn’t drown but could have (it might
have saved us all some money)
Julian Assange
must be guilty of something. Why else
would we keep him? This is Britain, not Rwanda
There was another, reasonably good, article, by Duncan Campbell, on the same day.
The Observer, covering its backside, on being accused of not doing enough to cover the plight of Julian Assange, and to campaign for his release.
I fear, this may be too little, too late. I hope not.