“Publishing Is Not a Crime” – latest in the Julian Assange case
JVL Introduction
We have reported from time to time on the cruel and unusual punishment meted out to Wikileaks founder, Julian Assange.
In a stunning new development, The New York Times, the Guardian, Le Monde, DER SPIEGEL and El País have all signed a joint open letter calling on the U.S. government to dismiss the Espionage Act charges against Julian Assange for publishing classified military and diplomatic secrets.
“Publishing is not a crime,” the letter states. “The U.S. government should end its prosecution of Julian Assange for publishing secrets.”
Meanwhile Assange continues to languish in prison here in the UK where he has been for the past three-and-a-half years.
He is awaiting – and contesting – extradition to the USA, accused of espionage for which he could be sentenced to 175 years in prison.
This article was originally published by Truthout on Sun 4 Dec 2022. Read the original here.
“Publishing Is Not a Crime”: The New York Times joins the fght to free Assange
Leaders of Brazil and Australia are also urging dismissal of U.S. charges against Julian Assange.
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Gross hypocrisy from the Guardian.
It’s good to see the MSM finally coming to the aid of Assange. The Guardian, in particular, however, played a central role in destroying Asssange’s reputation. See:
“Caitlin Johnstone: How The Guardian Can Help Assange
The most effective way for the paper to help end the publisher’s persecution is to publicly acknowledge the many bogus stories they published about him and correct the record”:
https://consortiumnews.com/2022/12/01/caitlin-johnstone-how-the-guardian-can-help-assange/
Its a disgrace the way Julian Asarge has been treated especially by the British Government
What have they actually charged him with as far as we know he has not been charged with anything in the UK
And even if he had why is he just been left in Bellmarsh Prison
Surely he is entitlef to know what the UK are keeping him locked up for
This treatment must be a crime against his human and civil rights
This man should be allowed at the very least to be able to return to his embassy or allowed to move freely around the UK until any criminal charges are brought against him
He is not a danger to anyone and its inhuman to keep someone in Prison this way
The UK Government need to grow a pair and tell the USA Government that they wont be extrediting him just because the USA want them to because they are scared of what evidence he has worried
Otherwise it could make the British Government look as if they hsve something to hide as well
Journalism should be independant and not controlled by Governments
Its no wonder people have no confidence in their Governments
Why have MSM decide to come to the aid of Assange now? He was granted asylum by Ecuador and lived at the Embassy for 7 years add that to a further thousand days continuous incarceration in Britain’s maximum-security Belmarsh Prison. They’ve had plenty of opportunity to put the pressure on to release Assange who is in prison without charge. British courts have trampled on his democratic and legal rights because he exposed the US war crimes. The British state continues to inflict psychological torture endangering his health and worsening his mental. So why wait over 9 and half years to speak up for a fellow publisher? Shame on them.
About bloody time. But apart from the initial publicising of the letter, I havent seen anything else in the Guardian. They clearly don’t see that they have a huge moral obligation to be CAMPAIGNING for his Assange’s release.
I’m afraid the Guardian simply hasn’t any credibility at all anymore. It is now firmly pro-American. It began to go bad when it cultivated the US digital market.
I agree with Carol.
Here are my views, 1. The Guardian has proven many times to be a Two Faced Rag.
2. The United States is determined to make all Journalists across the Western world, to be too frightened to publish anything that puts the US in a bad light, especially any war crimes that it’s Military commits or other International crimes it commits, ie funding Coups to get regime change, which they are notorious for doing, one example was in 2014 they funded the Coup in Ukraine, which saw Zelensky become its Leader, he then allowed them to build 26 BioLabs across Ukraine.
https://news.cgtn.com/news/2022-08-23/U-S-s-credibility-under-question-as-biolab-mishaps-pile-up-1cHL2mCd0bu/index.html
I just did a search for this:
PETER HITCHENS argues extraditing the WikiLeaks boss to the US violates British sovereignty, threatens press freedom and is nothing less than a politically motivated kidnap [not the full headline!]:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-8725993/PETER-HITCHENS-argues-extraditing-Julian-Assange-threatens-press-freedom.html
And came across THIS:
ANDREW NEIL: Julian Assange is reckless, stupid and a narcissist – but he exposed the truth and should NOT rot in an American jail
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-10928491/ANDREW-NEIL-Julian-Assange-reckless-stupid-narcissist-not-extradited.html
Hmm, but I suppose both Hitchens and Neil feel obliged to criticise and condemn Julian given what they know most people have been led to believe about him since his trip to Sweden, even though they know the vast majority of it was lies and distortion, and they know that it was undoubtedly all a set up. Anyone who has researched the Sweden episode even minimally will have come to that conclusion.