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Journalism is on trial

Julian Assange is the founder of WikiLeaks and is charged by the Trump government with publishing the Afghan and Iraq war logs for which he could face 175 years in jail.

He is currently in Belmarsh prison awaiting his four-day trial, starting on 24th February at Belmarsh Magistrates Court. Former UK ambassador to Uzbekistan, Craig Murray has said “he has all the symptoms of a torture victim, in terms of disorientation & difficulty in asserting their will & speaking coherently”

The UN working group on arbitrary detention issued a statement saying that “the right of Mr. Assange to personal liberty should be restored”.

Massimo Moratti of Amnesty International has publicly stated on their website that, “Were Julian Assange to be extradited or subjected to any other transfer to the USA, Britain would be in breach of its obligations under international law.”

Human Rights Watch published an article saying, “The only thing standing between an Assange prosecution and a major threat to global media freedom is Britain. It is urgent that it defend the principles at risk.”

The NUJ has stated “US charges against Assange pose a huge threat, one that could criminalise the critical work of investigative journalists & their ability to protect their sources”.

Future Actions
These are the next calls of action which you don’t want to miss out on.

PUBLIC RALLY: PRESS FREEDOM AND THE CASE OF JULIAN ASSANGE

7pm, 4th Feb, Logan Hall at the Institute of Education
Hear the latest developments in the case, the essential arguments against extradition and future plans for campaigning.

Book your place: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/press-freedom-and-the-case-of-julian-assange-tickets-89223874009

PROTEST OUTSIDE BELMARSH PRISON

9:30, 24 Feb, Belmarsh Courts
Julian Assange’s trial will start on February 25th at Belmarsh courts. We need to be there in vast numbers so the court knows it will not get away with another show trial.

GLOBAL DAY OF ACTION

24 Feb, in a city near you!
This trial affects everyone around the world. Wherever you are – fix a prime location and congregate to protest and be heard by the Trump and this trial.
Past Actions
Here are the protests we have organised in the past

2 September 2019

Roger Waters, Pink Floyd’s bassist, performed ‘Wish you were here’ in front of the Home Office in protest against the extradition.

21 October 2019

19 December 2019

13 January 2020

We have called the protests outside Westminster Magistrates Court for each of Julian Assange’s Court proceedings there.

Ex UK ambassador to Uzbekistan Craig Murray was inside the court on 21 October 2019 and reported on it. M.I.A. was inside the court on 13 January 2020 and spoke to the press outside about what happened in the court that day.

5 November 2019

Vivienne Westwood, M.I.A., Srecko Horvat and John Shipton all lead our protest in front of the Home Office against the extradition.

23 November 2019

Tariq Ali, Lisa Longstaff, John Pilger and Vivienne Westwood spoke at the book launch of ‘In Defense of Julian Assange’ published by or books.

Tickets sold out and all the copies we had of the book sold out at the beginning of the event.

Your Action Matters!
WikiLeaks has already published documents exposing cover-ups in these areas. Don’t let Trump stop this good work.
War Crimes
Collateral Murder is a classified US military video of a helicopter gunship slaying eighteen people in the Iraqi suburb of New Baghdad, including two Reuters journalists and their rescuers, documents a war crime.

The Iraq and Afghanistan War Logs showed the true number of civilian deaths in Iraq and is the most detailed record of war to date. It detailed the abuse and torture of prisoners by police and military in full knowledge of coalition forces.

Intelligence
The Global Intelligence Files revealed the inner workings of the private intelligence firm Stratfor that services the US government and large corporations such as Bhopal’s Dow Chemical Co., Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and government agencies, including the US Department of Homeland Security, the US Marines and the US Defence Intelligence Agency.
The Environment
The Minton Report detailed how Dutch multinational company Trafigura had dumped toxic waste in the Ivory Coast affecting 108,000 people. The report had been suppressed through a super injunction that the Guardian and the BBC obeyed, but WikiLeaks exposed.
Trade
TPP, TTIP & TISA, aka the ‘Big 3Ts’, are major trade agreements being drafted and negotiated in secret without proper democratic oversight. WikiLeaks has provided multiple draft chapters and negotiating positions to the public, which have fueled social justice and fair trade movements throughout the world. The Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) and Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership are now stalled. The lesser known Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA) between US, EU and 22 other countries accounts for two thirds of global GDP has been classified to keep it secret not just during the negotiations but for five years after the TiSA enters into force.
Government Meddling of Democracy
The Democratic National Committee Leaks consist of 19,252 emails and 8,034 attachments from the US Democratic National Party leadership, which resulted in the resignation of five top officials who had stacked the chips against one of the two Democratic candidates, Bernie Sanders, to favour Hillary Clinton by pressuring media outlets such as CNN, MSNBC, and black PR methods.
Nuclear Issues
The WikiLeaks site has 284, 493 publications on nuclear issues. These documents traverse the nuclear fuel cycle – from uranium mining to nuclear waste – with many thousands exposing nuclear energy industry giants, and nuclear weapon threat assessments, numbers, doctrines and negotiations.
The legal team require financial assistance!
The US Attorney has unlimited funding. Whereas Julian Assange’s legal team which is lead by Gareth Peirce doesn’t.
Throughout Europe you can make a tax-deductible donation toward Julian Assange and WikiLeaks’ staff legal costs. Please click below to be taken to the WikiLeaks legal fees donation page.
DONATE NOW!
Quotations from people of note
Journalists, diplomats, lawyers, academics, whistle-blowers, politicians etc. have issued statements in support of Julian Assange, his work and the fight against his extradition. Here are some of them.
The New York Times Editorial Board
Board of journalists and editors 
“With this indictment, the Trump administration has chosen to go well beyond the question of hacking to directly challenge the boundaries of the First Amendment. This case now represents a threat to freedom of expression and, with it, the resilience of American democracy itself.”
Tor Eckland
Computer, trial and appellate lawyer
“The Assange prosecution looks more like an attack on core political speech protected by the First Amendment than a proper exercise of prosecutorial discretion.”
Noam Chomsky
Academic, activist 
“Julian Assange shouldn’t be the subject of a grand jury hearing, he should be given a medal. He’s contributing to democracy.”
Jeremy Corbyn
Leader of the Labour Party, UK
“The extradition of Julian Assange to the US for exposing evidence of atrocities in Iraq and Afghanistan should be opposed by the British government.
What happened to free speech?”
We rely on you!
Campaigning cost money! We can't hope to stop the extradition of Julian Assange without it. Our opponents have have got plenty of it. But we rely on you. Please rush your donations to us now. Take action now! We have a few weeks to stop the extradition. You can make a difference.
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