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Lettera a Re Carlo di Julian Assange

A Sua Maestà il Re Carlo III,

In occasione dell’incoronazione del mio sovrano, ho ritenuto opportuno rivolgervi un sincero invito a commemorare questa importante occasione visitando il Vostro regno all’interno di un regno: la prigione di Sua Maestà Belmarsh.

Senza dubbio ricorderete le sagge parole di un famoso drammaturgo: «La clemenza ha natura non forzata, cade dal cielo come la pioggia gentile sulla terra sottostante».

Ah, ma cosa ne saprebbe quel bardo della pietà di fronte alla resa dei conti all’alba del Vostro storico regno? Dopotutto, si può davvero conoscere la misura di una società da come tratta i suoi prigionieri, e il Vostro regno ha sicuramente eccelso in questo senso. La prigione di Sua Maestà Belmarsh si trova nel prestigioso indirizzo di One Western Way, Londra, a pochi passi dall’Old Royal Naval College di Greenwich.

Come dev’essere delizioso avere un’istituzione così stimata che porta il Vostro nome. È qui che sono detenuti 687 dei Vostri fedeli sudditi, confermando il primato del Regno Unito come nazione con la più grande popolazione carceraria dell’Europa occidentale.

Come il Vostro nobile governo ha recentemente dichiarato, il Vostro regno sta attualmente attraversando «la più grande espansione di posti carcerari in oltre un secolo», con le Vostro ambiziose proiezioni che mostrano un aumento della popolazione carceraria da 82.000 a 106.000 entro i prossimi quattro anni.

Una bella eredità, davvero. In qualità di prigioniero politico, detenuto per volontà di Vostra Maestà per conto di un sovrano straniero imbarazzato, sono onorato di risiedere tra le mura di questa istituzione di livello mondiale. Davvero, il Vostro regno non conosce limiti.

Durante la Vostra visita, avrete l’opportunità di banchettare con le delizie culinarie preparate per i vostri fedeli sudditi con un generoso budget di due sterline al giorno.

Assaporerete le teste di tonno miste e le onnipresenti forme ricostituite che sono presumibilmente fatte di pollo. E non preoccupatevi, perché a differenza di istituzioni minori come Alcatraz o San Quentin, non ci sono pasti comuni in una mensa.

A Belmarsh, i prigionieri cenano da soli nelle loro celle, assicurando la massima intimità con il loro pasto. Al di là dei piaceri gustativi, posso assicurarvi che Belmarsh offre ampie opportunità educative per i Vostri sudditi.

Come dice Proverbi 22:6: «Abitua il giovane secondo la via da seguire; neppure da vecchio se ne allontanerà».

Osserverete le lunghe code al portello delle medicine, dove i detenuti raccolgono le loro prescrizioni, non per l’uso quotidiano, ma per l’esperienza in espansione di orizzonti di una «grande giornata fuori», tutti in una volta.

Avrete anche l’opportunità di rendere omaggio al mio defunto amico Manoel Santos, un omosessuale che rischia la deportazione nel Brasile di Bolsonaro, che si è tolto la vita a soli otto metri dalla mia cella usando una rozza corda ricavata dalle sue lenzuola. La sua squisita voce da tenore ora è messa a tacere per sempre.

Vi avventurerete ulteriormente nelle profondità di Belmarsh e troverai il luogo più isolato all’interno delle sue mura: Healthcare, o «Hellcare» come lo chiamano amorevolmente i suoi abitanti. Qui vi meraviglierete di regole sensate pensate per la sicurezza di tutti, come il divieto degli scacchi, pur consentendo il gioco molto meno pericoloso della dama.

Nel profondo di Hellcare si trova il luogo più gloriosamente edificante di tutto Belmarsh, anzi, dell’intero Regno Unito: la Belmarsh End of Life Suite dal nome sublime. Ascoltate attentamente e potrete sentire le grida dei prigionieri di «Fratello, morirò qui», una testimonianza della qualità della vita e della morte all’interno della Vostra prigione.

Ma non temete, perché c’è bellezza da trovare tra queste mura. Rifatevi gli occhi con i pittoreschi corvi che nidificano nel filo spinato e le centinaia di topi affamati che chiamano Belmarsh la propria casa.

E se venite in primavera, potreste persino intravedere gli anatroccoli deposti da germani ribelli all’interno del terreno della prigione. Ma non tardare, perché i topi famelici assicurano che le loro vite siano fugaci.

Vi imploro, re Carlo, di visitare la prigione di Sua Maestà Belmarsh, poiché è un onore che si addice a un re.

Mentre intraprendete il Vostro regno, ricordate sempre le parole della Bibbia di Re Giacomo: «Beati i misericordiosi, perché a loro misericordia sarà fatta»(Matteo 5:7).

E possa la misericordia essere la luce guida del Vostro regno, sia all’interno che all’esterno delle mura di Belmarsh.

Il Vostro suddito più devoto,

Julian Assange

A9379AY

Originally published here.

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国王にふさわしい提案： ジュリアン・アサンジから国王チャールズ3世への手紙

国王チャールズ3世陛下へ

我が君主の戴冠式に際して、この記念すべき日を祝うために、王国の中の王国を訪問することを、心からお勧めしたいと思います。国王陛下のベルマーシュ刑務所のことです。

あなたは、ある有名な劇作家の名言を思い起こすことでしょう。「慈悲は、選別をするのではなく、天から降る優しい雨のように、その下の場所に降り注ぐ。」

しかし、その吟遊詩人は、あなたの歴史的な治世の夜明けに直面した時、慈悲について何を知っているのでしょうか？結局のところ、社会が囚人をどのように扱うかによってその社会の尺度が本当にわかるのです。あなたの王国はその点確かにとても優れています。

国王陛下の刑務所であるベルマーシュ刑務所は、グリニッジの旧王立海軍大学からすぐのところにある、ロンドンのワンウェスタンウェイという一流の住所に位置しています。そのような尊敬すべき施設に自分の名前があることは、どんなに喜ばしいことかと思います。

ここには、あなたの忠実な臣民のうち687人が収容されており、西ヨーロッパで最大の刑務所人口を持つ国としての英国の記録を下支えしています。貴国の政府が最近宣言したように、貴国は現在、「この１００年で最大の刑務所の拡張」しており、その野心的な予測では、今後4年以内に刑務所の人口が８万２千人から１０万６千人へと増加するそうです。まさにレガシーと言えますね。

政治犯として、恥をかかされた外国の君主［訳者注：米国のこと］に成りかわって陛下のご意向で囚われた私は、この世界トップクラスの施設の壁の中に住めることを光栄に思っています。本当に、あなたの王国には境界というものがありません。

ご訪問の際には、忠実な臣下のために1日2ポンドの予算でふんだんなく用意されたご馳走を召し上がっていただくことができます。マグロの頭を混ぜたものや、どこにでもあるような、鶏肉から作ったとされる水で戻したような食べ物をお召し上がりください。アルカトラズやサン・クエンティンのような劣悪な施設とは異なり、食堂で共同食をすることはありませんから、ご心配なく。ベルマーシュでは、囚人たちは独房の中で一人で食事をし、いただく食事との密接な関係を築くことが可能なのです。

ベルマーシュでは、味覚の快楽だけでなく、あなたの臣民たちに教育の機会も十分に用意されています。箴言22章6節にある通りです： 「子をその行くべき道に訓練しなさい。そうすれば年をとってもそこから離れることはない」とあります。薬の配給所にゾロゾロ並ぶ行列を観察してください。受刑者が処方薬を集めているのは、日常的に使うためではなく、「ビッグ・デイ・アウト」という水平線を広げる体験で一気に使うためです。

ボルソナロ政権下のブラジルへの強制送還に直面した私のゲイの友人、故マノエル・サントスは、私の部屋からわずか8ヤードのところで、ベッドシーツで作った粗末なロープを使って自ら命を絶ちました。彼の絶妙なテノールの声は、今、永遠に沈黙させられました。

ベルマーシュの奥深くへ足を踏み入れると、その壁の中で最も孤立した場所を見つけることができます： ヘルスケア、あるいは囚人たちが愛着をこめて「ヘルケア」［訳者注：地獄のケア」と呼ぶ場所です。ここでは、チェスを禁止する一方で、より危険の少ないチェッカーゲームを許可するなど、みんなの安全のために作られた賢明なルールに驚嘆されることでしょう。

ヘルケアの奥には、ベルマーシュ、いや、イギリス全土で最も華やかで高揚感のある場所、「ベルマーシュ最期のスイートルーム」という崇高な名前の部屋があります。耳を澄ませば、囚人たちの「ブラザー、私はここで死ぬんだ」という叫びが聞こえてくるかもしれません。あなたの刑務所の生と死の質の高さを物語っているのです。

しかし、恐れることはありません。この壁の中には美しいものがあります。カミソリの針金に巣を作る、絵になるカラスの様子や、ベルマーシュを住み処とする何百匹もの空腹のネズミに目を奪われてはいかがでしょう。また、春にいらっしゃれば、刑務所の敷地内でマガモが産んだ子ガモを見ることができるかもしれません。しかし、延期しないでください。貪欲なネズミは、これらの命をつかの間のものにしてしまうかもしれません。

チャールズ国王、国王陛下のベルマーシュ刑務所を訪れていただくよう懇願します。国王にふさわしい栄誉だからです。 あなたが統治を始めるにあたり、欽定訳聖書の言葉を常に思い出してください： 「慈悲深い者は幸いである。彼らは慈悲を得ることができる」（マタイ5:7）。慈悲があなたの王国の指針となりますように。ベルマーシュの壁の内と外の両方において。

あなたの最も献身的な臣下、

ジュリアン・アサンジ

囚人番号　A9379AY

Originally published here.

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Ένα προσκλητήριο γράμμα από τον Τζούλιαν Ασάνζ στον βασιλιά Κάρολο Γ’

Στην Αυτού Μεγαλειότητα Βασιλιά Κάρολο Γ’,

Για τη στέψη του άρχοντά μου, σκέφτηκα πως θα ήταν σωστό να σας απευθύνω μια εγκάρδια πρόσκληση ώστε να τιμήσετε αυτή τη σημαντική περίσταση επισκεπτόμενος το ολόδικό σας βασίλειο εντός του βασιλείου: την Αυτού Μεγαλειότητας Φυλακή του Μπέλμαρς.

Αναμφίβολα θα θυμάστε τα σοφά λόγια ενός φημισμένου δραματουργού: «Η χάρη που ‘χει το έλεος δεν επιβάλλεται, στάζει σαν τη γλυκιά βροχή απ’ τον ουρανό πάνω στο χώμα».

Ω, μα τι να ξέρει εκείνος ο βάρδος από έλεος αντιμέτωπος με τον απολογισμό της αυγής της ιστορικής σας ηγεμονίας; Άλλωστε, κανείς μπορεί πραγματικά να γνωρίζει το μέτρο μιας κοινωνίας από το πώς μεταχειρίζεται τους φυλακισμένους της, και το βασίλειό σας έχει σίγουρα διαπρέψει από αυτή την άποψη.

Η Φυλακή της Αυτού Μεγαλειότητάς σας, Μπέλμαρς, βρίσκεται στην αριστοκρατική διεύθυνση One Western Way στο Λονδίνο, μόλις ένα σύντομο κυνήγι αλεπούς μακριά από το Παλιό Βασιλικό Ναυτικό Κολλέγιο στο Γκρίνουιτς. Πόσο ευχάριστο πρέπει να είναι ένα τόσο αξιοσέβαστο ίδρυμα να φέρει το όνομά σας.

Είναι εδώ που κρατούνται 687 από τους πιστούς σας υπηκόους, στηρίζοντας το ρεκόρ του Ηνωμένου Βασιλείου ως τη χώρα με τον μεγαλύτερο πληθυσμό φυλακισμένων στη Δυτική Ευρώπη. Όπως έχει δηλώσει πρόσφατα η ευγενής κυβέρνησή σας, το βασίλειό σας υφίσταται αυτή τη στιγμή «τη μεγαλύτερη επέκταση των φυλακών εδώ και έναν αιώνα», με τις φιλόδοξες προβλέψεις της να δείχνουν αύξηση του πληθυσμού των φυλακών από 82.000 σε 106.000 μέσα στα επόμενα τέσσερα χρόνια. Τι κληρονομιά, όντως.

Ως πολιτικός κρατούμενος, φυλακισμένος κατά την ευχαρίστηση της Μεγαλειότητάς σας για λογαριασμό ενός ντροπιασμένου ξένου ηγέτη, έχω την τιμή να διαβιώ μέσα από τους τοίχους αυτού του παγκοσμίου κλάσης ιδρύματος. Αληθινά, το βασίλειό σας δεν γνωρίζει όρια.

Κατά την επίσκεψή σας, θα έχετε την ευκαιρία να απολαύσετε τις γαστρονομικές λιχουδιές που ετοιμάζονται για τους πιστούς σας υπηκόους με τον γενναιόδωρο προϋπολογισμό των δύο λιρών την ημέρα. Γευτείτε το μείγμα κεφαλιών τόνου και τις πανταχού παρούσες ανασυσταμένες μορφές που υποτίθεται ότι είναι φτιαγμένες από κοτόπουλο. Και μην ανησυχείτε, διότι σε αντίθεση με τα μικρότερα ιδρύματα όπως το Αλκατράζ και το Σαν Κουέντιν, δεν υπάρχει κοινόχρηστη αίθουσα φαγητού. Στο Μπέλμαρς, οι φυλακισμένοι τρώνε μόνοι τους στα κελιά τους, εξασφαλίζοντας την απόλυτη οικειότητα με το γεύμα τους.

Πέρα από τις γευστικές απολαύσεις, μπορώ να σας διαβεβαιώσω πως το Μπέλμαρς παρέχει άφθονες εκπαιδευτικές ευκαιρίες για τους υπηκόους σας. Όπως λέει το εδάφιο των Παροιμιών 22:6 «Δίδαξε το παιδί στην αρχή τού δρόμου του, και δεν θα απομακρυνθεί απ’ αυτόν ούτε όταν γεράσει». Παρατηρήστε τις σερνάμενες ουρές στο παράθυρο των φαρμάκων, όπου οι έγκλειστοι συγκεντρώνουν τις συνταγές τους, όχι για ημερήσια χρήση, αλλά για τη διευρύνουσα ορίζοντες εμπειρία μιας «μεγάλης ημέρας στο ύπαιθρο» — παίρνοντα΄ς τις μεμιάς.

Θα έχετε επίσης την ευκαιρία να αποδώσετε σέβη στον αείμνηστο φίλο μου Μανοέλ Σάντος, έναν ομοφυλόφιλο άνδρα που αντιμετώπιζε την έκδοσή του στη Βραζιλία του Μπολσονάρο, ο οποίος αυτοκτόνησε μόλις οκτώ γιάρδες από το κελί μου χρησιμοποιώντας ένα αυτοσχέδιο σκοινί φτιαγμένο από τα σεντόνια του. Η εξαίσια φωνή τενόρου τώρα έχει σιγήσει για πάντα.

Περιηγηθείτε στα βάθη του Μπέλμαρς και θα βρείτε το πιο απομονωμένο μέρος εντός των τειχών του: το Healthcare, ή «Hellcare» όπως το αποκαλούν με αγάπη οι κάτοικοι. Εδώ, θα θαυμάσετε τους λογικούς κανόνες που έχουν σχεδιαστεί για την ασφάλεια όλων, όπως την απαγόρευση του σκακιού, ενώ παράλληλα επιτρέπεται το πολύ λιγότερο επικίνδυνο παιχνίδι της ντάμας.

Βαθιά μέσα στο Hellcare βρίσκεται το πιο ένδοξα αναζωογονητικό μέρος σε όλο το Μπέλμαρς, όχι, σε ολόκληρο το Ηνωμένο Βασίλειο: η θεσπέσια ονοματισμένη Σουίτα Τέλους Ζωής του Μπέλμαρς. Ακούστε προσεκτικά και μπορεί να αφουγκραστείτε τις φωνές των φυλακισμένων, «Αδερφέ, θα πεθάνω εδώ μέσα», απόδειξη της ποιότητας της ζωής και του θανάτου μέσα στη φυλακή σας.

Όμως μη φοβηθείτε, διότι μπορεί να βρεθεί ομορφιά μέσα σε αυτούς τους τοίχους. Χορτάστε το βλέμμα σας με τα γραφικά κοράκια να φωλιάζουν στο συρματόπλεγμα και τους εκατοντάδες πεινασμένους αρουραίους που αποκαλούν το Μπέλμαρς σπίτι τους. Κι αν έρθετε την άνοιξη, μπορεί να ρίξετε μια ματιά στα παπάκια που έχουν γεννηθεί από επίμονες αγριόπαπιες μέσα στα εδάφη της φυλακής. Όμως μην αργοπορήσετε, διότι οι αδηφάγοι αρουραίοι σιγουρεύουν πως οι ζωές τους είναι φευγαλέες.

Σας ικετεύω, Βασιλιά Κάρολε, να επισκεφτείτε τη Φυλακή της Αυτού Μεγαλειότητάς σας στο Μπέλμαρς, διότι είναι μια τιμή που αξίζει σε έναν βασιλιά. Καθώς ξεκινάτε την ηγεμονία σας, είθε να θυμάστε πάντα τα λόγια της Βίβλου: «μακάριοι οἱ ἐλεήμονες, ὅτι αὐτοὶ ἐλεηθήσονται» (κατά Ματθαίον 5:7). Και ας είναι το έλεος το φως που οδηγεί το βασίλειό σας, τόσο εντός όσο κι εκτός των τειχών του Μπέλμαρς.

Ο πιο πιστός σας υπήκοος,

Τζούλιαν Ασάνζ

A9379AY

Originally published here.

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Assange inbjuder Charles III besöka Belmarsh

“Det är här som 687 av dina lojala undersåtar hålls, vilket underbygger Storbritanniens rekord som landet  med den största fångpopulationen i Västeuropa.”
“Som er ädla regering nyligen har deklarerat, genomgår ert kungarike för närvarande ‘den största expansionen av fängelseplatser på över ett sekel’. Dess ambitiösa prognoser visar en ökning av fångbefolkningen från 82 000 till 106 000 inom de kommande fyra åren”, fortsätter Assange med besk ironi.

“Som en politisk fånge, som hålls av Ers Majestät på uppdrag av en utländsk suverän, är jag hedrad över att få vistas inom murarna av denna institution i världsklass. Sannerligen, Ert rike känner inga gränser.”

“Under Ert besök kommer Ni att ha möjlighet att njuta av de kulinariska läckerheter som tillagas för Era lojala undersåtar med en generös budget på två pund per dag. Njut av de blandade tonfiskhuvudena och de allestädes närvarande omskapta former som påstås vara gjorda av kyckling. Och oroa Er inte, för till skillnad från mindre institutioner som Alcatraz eller San Quentin, finns det ingen gemensam middag i en mässhall. På Belmarsh äter fångar ensamma i sina celler, vilket säkerställer största möjliga intimitet vid måltiden.”

“Utöver de smakliga nöjena kan jag försäkra Er om att Belmarsh erbjuder rikliga utbildningsmöjligheter för Era undersåtar… Ni kommer också att ha möjlighet att visa Er respekt för min bortgångne vän Manoel Santos, en homosexuell man som stod inför utvisning till Bolsonaros Brasilien, och tog sitt liv bara åtta meter från min cell med hjälp av ett grovt rep tillverkat av hans lakan. Hans utsökta tenorröst tystnade nu för alltid.”

“Ge Er längre in i djupet av Belmarsh och Ni kommer att hitta den mest isolerade platsen inom dess väggar: Healthcare (hälsovård), eller “Hellcare” (helvetesvård) som dess invånare kärleksfullt kallar det. Här kommer Ni att förundras över förnuftiga regler utformade för allas säkerhet, såsom förbudet mot schack, samtidigt som Ni tillåter det mycket mindre farliga damspelet.

“Djupt inuti Hellcare ligger den mest ärorika upplyftande platsen i hela Belmarsh, ja, hela Storbritannien: den sublimt namngivna Belmarshsviten Livets slut. Lyssna noga och Ni kanske hör fångarnas rop om ‘ror, jag kommer att dö här inne’, ett bevis på kvaliteten på både liv och död i Ert fängelse.”

“Men frukta inte, för det finns skönhet att finna inom dessa väggar. Njut av de pittoreska kråkorna som häckar i den rakbladsvassa taggtråden och de hundratals hungriga råttor som kallar Belmarsh sitt hem. Och om Ni kommer på våren kan du till och med få en glimt av ankungar som läggs av egensinniga gräsänder på fängelseområdet. Men dröj inte, för de glupska råttorna ser till att deras liv är flyktiga.”

“Jag ber Er, kung Charles, att besöka Hans Majestäts fängelse Belmarsh, för det är en ära som anstår en kung. När Ni börjar Er regeringstid, må Ni alltid komma ihåg orden i King James Bible: ‘Saliga är de barmhärtiga, ty de skall få barmhärtighet’ (Matteus 5:7). Och må barmhärtighet vara ditt rikes ledstjärna, både inom och utanför Belmarshs murar. Din mest hängivna undersåte,

Julian Assange,

A9379AY “

Originally published here.

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Brief van Julian Assange aan Zijne Majesteit Koning Charles III

Bij de kroning van mijn leenheer vond ik het gepast om U uit te nodigen voor een bezoek aan Uw eigen Koninkrijk binnen een Koninkrijk: Your Majesty’s Belmarsh Prison.

U herinnert zich ongetwijfeld de wijze woorden van een bekende toneelschrijver: “De kwaliteit van barmhartigheid staat niet gespannen. Ze valt als zachte regen uit de hemel op die plaats daar beneden.”

Ah, maar wat zou deze bard weten van barmhartigheid bij het ochtendgloren van uw historisch bewind? Immers, men kan echt de maat van een samenleving kennen door hoe ze haar gevangenen behandelt, en Uw Koninkrijk heeft zeker al uitgeblonken in dat opzicht.

Your Majesty’s Prison Belmarsh is gevestigd op het prestigieuze adres One Western Way, Londen, slechts een korte vossenjacht verwijderd van de Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich. Hoe heerlijk moet het zijn dat zo een gewaardeerde instelling Uw naam draagt.

Het is hier dat 687 van Uw trouwe onderdanen worden vastgehouden, waardoor zij het record in stand houden van het Verenigd Koninkrijk van de grootste gevangenisbevolking van West-Europa. Zoals Uw edele regering onlangs heeft verklaard, ondergaat Uw Koninkrijk momenteel “de grootste uitbreiding van gevangenissen in meer dan een eeuw”, met ambitieuze prognoses die een toename van de gevangenisbevolking van 82.000 tot 106.000 voorzien in de komende vier jaar. Wat een erfenis, inderdaad.

Als een politieke gevangene, vastgehouden ten geneugte van Uwe Majesteit namens een verveelde buitenlandse soeverein, ben ik vereerd om binnen de muren van dit wereldklasse-instituut te verblijven. Waarlijk, Uw Koninkrijk kent geen grenzen.

Tijdens Uw bezoek kunt U zich tegoed doen aan culinaire hoogstandjes die met een royaal budget van twee pond per dag (2,29 euro) worden bereid voor Uw trouwe onderdanen. Smaak de vermalen tonijnkoppen en alomtegenwoordige vormen die naar het schijnt van kip zijn gemaakt.

En maakt U zich geen zorgen, want in tegenstelling tot mindere instellingen als Alcatraz of San Quentin is er geen gemeenschappelijk eten in een eetzaal. In Belmarsh dineren de gevangenen alleen in hun cel, zodat ze de grootst mogelijke intimiteit met hun maaltijd genieten.

Naast het culinaire genot, kan ik U verzekeren dat Belmarsh ruime educatieve mogelijkheden biedt voor Uw onderdanen. Zoals Spreuken 22:6 zegt: “Leidt een kind op in de weg die het moet gaan, en als het oud is, zal het daarvan niet afwijken.”

Observeer de schuifelende rijen bij het medicijnluik, waar gevangenen hun recepten ophalen, niet voor dagelijks gebruik, maar voor de horizonverruimende ervaring van een “grote dag uit” – allen tegelijk.

U zult ook de gelegenheid te baat kunnen nemen om Uw respect te betuigen aan mijn overleden vriend Manoel Santos, een homoseksuele man die gedeporteerd moest worden naar het Brazilië van Bolsonaro, die zich op acht meter van mijn cel van het leven beroofde met een ruw touw dat hij had gemaakt van zijn lakens. Zijn prachtige tenorstem zwijgt voor altijd.

Schrijdt U verder in de diepten van Belmarsh en U vindt er de meest geïsoleerde plaats binnen zijn muren: de Healthcare (gezondheidszorg) of “Hellcare” zoals de bewoners het liefkozend noemen. Hier zult U verrukt worden door de verstandige regels die voor ieders veiligheid werden opgesteld, zoals het verbod op schaken, terwijl het veel minder gevaarlijke damspel wel is toegestaan.

Diep in Hellcare ligt de meest glorieus opbeurende plaats in heel Belmarsh, neen, in het hele Verenigd Koninkrijk: de subliem genaamde Belmarsh End of Life Suite. Luister goed en U kunt er de kreten van de gevangenen horen: “Broeder, ik ga hier sterven”, een bewijs van de kwaliteit van zowel leven als dood binnen Uw gevangenis.

Maar vreest niet, want er is schoonheid te vinden binnen deze muren. Geniet van de pittoreske kraaien die nestelen in het prikkeldraad en de honderden hongerige ratten die Belmarsh hun thuis noemen. En als U in de lente komt, kunt U zelfs een glimp opvangen van de eende-kuikentjes die door eigenzinnige wilde eenden op het gevangenisterrein worden verzorgd. Maar wacht U best niet te lang, want vraatzuchtige ratten zorgen ervoor dat hun leven vluchtig is.

Ik smeek U, Koning Charles, om de gevangenis van Belmarsh te bezoeken, want het is een eer passend voor een Koning. Nu U aan Uw bewind begint, moge U zich altijd de woorden van de Bijbel herinneren: “Zalig zijn de barmhartigen, want zij zullen barmhartigheid verkrijgen” (Mattheus 5:7). En moge barmhartigheid de leidraad zijn van Uw Koninkrijk, zowel binnen als buiten de muren van Belmarsh.

Uw meest toegewijde onderdaan,

Julian Assange

Originally published here.

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Carta de Julian Assange ao rei Charles III

À Sua Majestade o Rei Charles III,

Na coroação de meu soberano, achei apropriado estender um convite sincero a você para comemorar esta ocasião importante visitando seu próprio reino dentro de um reino: a Prisão de Sua Majestade Belmarsh.

Sem dúvida, você se lembrará das sábias palavras de um renomado dramaturgo: “A natureza da graça não comporta compulsão. Gota a gota ela cai, tal como a chuva benéfica do céu.”

Ah, mas o que aquele bardo saberia da misericórdia diante do ajuste de contas no alvorecer de seu reinado histórico? Afinal, podemos realmente conhecer o valor de uma sociedade pela forma como ela trata seus prisioneiros, e seu reino certamente se destacou nesse aspecto.

A Prisão de Vossa Majestade Belmarsh está localizada no prestigiado endereço de One Western Way, Londres, a uma curta caçada a raposas do Old Royal Naval College (Antiga Escola Real Naval) em Greenwich. Quão prazeroso deve ser ter um estabelecimento tão estimado com o seu nome.

É aqui que 687 de seus súditos leais são mantidos, respaldando o recorde do Reino Unido como a nação com a maior população carcerária da Europa Ocidental. Como seu nobre governo declarou recentemente, seu reino está atualmente passando pela “maior expansão de prisões em mais de um século”, com suas ambiciosas projeções mostrando um aumento da população carcerária de 82.000 para 106.000 nos próximos quatro anos. Um legado e tanto, de fato.

Enquanto prisioneiro político, mantido a critério de Vossa Majestade em nome de um soberano estrangeiro envergonhado, sinto-me honrado em residir dentro dos muros dessa instituição de classe mundial. Realmente, seu reino não conhece limites.

Durante sua visita, você terá a oportunidade de saborear as delícias culinárias preparadas para seus fiéis súditos com um generoso orçamento de duas libras por dia. Saboreie as cabeças de atum misturadas e as formas onipresentes recompostas supostamente de frango. E não se preocupe, pois ao contrário de instituições inferiores, como Alcatraz ou San Quentin, não há jantar comunitário em um refeitório. Em Belmarsh, os presos jantam sozinhos em suas celas, garantindo a maior intimidade com a refeição.

Além dos prazeres gustativos, posso garantir que Belmarsh oferece amplas oportunidades educacionais para seus súditos. Como se lê em Provérbios 22:6: “Ensina a criança no caminho em que deve andar, e até quando for velho não se desviará dele.” Observe o caminhar arrastado nas filas para as portinholas dos medicamentos, onde os presos recolhem suas prescrições, não para uso diário, mas para a experiência de expansão do horizonte de um “grande dia de folga” – tudo de uma vez.

Você também terá a oportunidade de prestar homenagem ao meu falecido amigo Manoel Santos, um homem gay que enfrentava a deportação para o Brasil de Bolsonaro, que se suicidou a apenas oito metros de minha cela usando uma corda improvisada de seus lençóis. Sua refinada voz de tenor agora silenciada para sempre.

Aventure-se ainda mais nas profundezas de Belmarsh e você encontrará o lugar mais isolado dentro de suas paredes: “Healthcare” ou “Hellcare” (Cuidados de Saúde ou “Cuidados Infernais”) como seus habitantes o chamam carinhosamente. Aqui, você ficará maravilhado com regras sensatas projetadas para a segurança de todos, como a proibição do xadrez, enquanto permite o jogo de damas, muito menos perigoso.

Nas profundezas do “Hellcare” encontra-se o lugar mais gloriosamente edificante de toda Belmarsh, ou melhor, de todo o Reino Unido: sublimemente chamada de “suíte de fim de vida” de Belmarsh. Ouça com atenção e você poderá ouvir os clamores dos prisioneiros de “Irmão, vou morrer aqui”, um testemunho da qualidade da vida e da morte dentro de sua prisão.

Mas não tema, pois há beleza a ser encontrada dentro dessas paredes. Deleite-se com os pitorescos corvos aninhados no arame farpado e com as centenas de ratos famintos que chamam Belmarsh de lar. E se você vier na primavera, poderá até vislumbrar os patinhos colocados por patos rebeldes dentro do terreno da prisão. Mas não demore, pois os ratos vorazes garantem que suas vidas sejam passageiras.

Eu lhe imploro, Rei Charles, que visite a Prisão de Sua Majestade Belmarsh, pois é uma honra digna de um rei. Ao embarcar em seu reinado, lembre-se sempre das palavras da Bíblia de King James: “Bem-aventurados são os misericordiosos, porque alcançarão misericórdia” (Mateus 5:7). E que a misericórdia seja a luz orientadora de seu reino, dentro e fora dos muros de Belmarsh.

Seu mais dedicado súdito,

Julian Assange

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Originally published here.

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Lettre de Julian Assange au roi Charles III pour son couronnement

Le 5 mai 2023

À Sa Majesté le roi Charles III,

À l’occasion du couronnement de mon souverain, j’ai pensé qu’il était tout à fait approprié de vous adresser une invitation sincère à commémorer cette occasion capitale en visitant votre propre royaume au sein d’un royaume : la prison de Sa Majesté Belmarsh.

Vous vous souviendrez sans doute des sages paroles d’un célèbre dramaturge : “La qualité de la miséricorde n’est pas sollicitée. Elle tombe comme une douce pluie du ciel sur l’endroit juste au dessous.” Ah, mais que saurait ce barde de la miséricorde face au constat qui s’impose à l’aube de votre règne historique ? Après tout, on peut vraiment mesurer une société à la façon dont elle traite ses prisonniers, et votre royaume a certainement excellé dans ce domaine. La prison de Belmarsh de Votre Majesté est située à l’adresse prestigieuse de One Western Way, à Londres, à quelques encablures du Old Royal Naval College de Greenwich. Quel plaisir de voir un établissement aussi estimé porter votre nom !   

C’est ici que sont détenus 687 de vos loyaux sujets, ce qui conforte le Royaume-Uni dans son statut de nation ayant la plus grande population carcérale d’Europe occidentale. Comme l’a récemment déclaré votre noble gouvernement, votre royaume connaît actuellement “la plus grande expansion de places de prison depuis plus d’un siècle”, avec des projections ambitieuses montrant une augmentation de la population carcérale de 82.000 à 106.000 dans les quatre prochaines années. C’est tout un héritage, en effet.

En tant que prisonnier politique, détenu selon le bon vouloir de Votre Majesté au nom d’un souverain étranger embarrassé, j’ai l’honneur de résider entre les murs de cette institution de classe mondiale. Vraiment, votre royaume ne connaît pas de frontières.

Au cours de votre visite, vous aurez l’occasion de vous régaler des délices culinaires préparés pour vos loyaux sujets avec un budget généreux de deux livres par jour. Savourez les têtes de thon mixées et les omniprésentes formes reconstituées prétendument à base de poulet. Ne vous inquiétez pas, car contrairement à d’autres institutions de moindre importance comme Alcatraz ou San Quentin, il n’y a pas de repas en commun dans un réfectoire. À Belmarsh, les prisonniers dînent seuls dans leur cellule, ce qui leur assure une intimité maximale avec leur repas.

Au-delà des plaisirs gustatifs, je peux vous assurer que Belmarsh offre de nombreuses possibilités d’éducation à vos sujets. Comme le dit Proverbes 22:6 : “Instruis un enfant dans la voie qu’il doit suivre, et quand il sera grand, il ne s’en détournera pas”. Observez les files d’attente au guichet des médicaments, où les détenus rassemblent leurs ordonnances, non pas pour un usage quotidien, mais pour l’expérience de l’horizon bien plus large d’une “grande journée” – en une seule fois.

Vous aurez également l’occasion de rendre hommage à mon défunt ami Manoel Santos, un homosexuel menacé d’expulsion vers le Brésil de Bolsonaro, qui s’est suicidé à huit mètres de ma cellule à l’aide d’une corde grossière fabriquée à partir de ses draps de lit. Sa voix de ténor exquise s’est tue à jamais.

Si vous vous aventurez dans les profondeurs de Belmarsh, vous trouverez l’endroit le plus isolé à l’intérieur de ses murs: l’Infirmerie, ou plutôt l’ « Enfermerie » comme l’appellent affectueusement ses habitants. Ici, vous serez émerveillé par des règles sensées conçues pour la sécurité de chacun, comme l’interdiction des échecs, alors que le jeu de dames, bien moins dangereux, est autorisé.

Au cœur de l’Enfermerie se trouve l’endroit le plus glorieux de tout Belmarsh, voire de tout le Royaume-Uni : la sublime Belmarsh « End of Life Suite ». Si vous écoutez attentivement, vous entendrez peut-être les cris des prisonniers : “Frère, je vais mourir ici”, ce qui témoigne de la qualité de la vie et de la mort dans votre prison.

Mais ne craignez rien, car il y a de la beauté à l’intérieur de ces murs. Vous admirerez les pittoresques corbeaux qui nichent dans les barbelés et les centaines de rats affamés qui ont élu domicile à Belmarsh. Et si vous venez au printemps, vous pourrez peut-être même apercevoir les canetons pondus par des colverts égarés dans l’enceinte de la prison. Mais ne tardez pas, car les rats voraces leur assurent une vie éphémère.

Je vous implore, Roi Charles, de visiter la prison de Belmarsh de Sa Majesté.  Belmarsh, car c’est un honneur digne d’un roi. Alors que vous entamez votre règne, souvenez-vous toujours des mots de la Bible du roi Jacques : “Heureux les miséricordieux, car ils obtiendront miséricorde” (Matthieu 5:7). Et que la miséricorde soit la lumière qui guide votre royaume, tant à l’intérieur qu’à l’extérieur des murs de Belmarsh.

Votre sujet le plus dévoué,

Julian ASSANGE

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Brief von Julian Assange an den gekrönten Charles III

An Seine Majestät König Karl III,

Anlässlich der Krönung meines Lehnsherrn möchte ich Sie herzlich einladen, in Ihrem eigenen Königreich ein besonderes Königreich zu besuchen: das Gefängnis Seiner Majestät in Belmarsh.

Sicherlich erinnern Sie sich an die weisen Worte eines berühmten Dramatikers: «Barmherzigkeit ist nicht anstrengend. Sie tropft wie der sanfte Regen vom Himmel.»

Den wahren Wert einer Gesellschaft kann man daran erkennen, wie sie ihre Gefangenen behandelt. In dieser Hinsicht ist Euer Königreich sicher beispielhaft.

Das Gefängnis Belmarsh Eurer Majestät befindet sich an der prestigeträchtigen Adresse One Western Way in London, nur eine kurze Fuchsjagd vom Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich entfernt. 

Hier im Gefängnis Belmarsh sind 687 Ihrer treuen Untertanen inhaftiert, was das Vereinigte Königreich zum Land mit der grössten Gefängnispopulation in Westeuropa macht. Wie Ihre edle Regierung kürzlich erklärte, durchläuft Ihr Königreich derzeit «den grössten Ausbau von Gefängnisplätzen seit über einem Jahrhundert». Die kühnen Prognosen Ihrer Regierung erwarten, dass die Gefängnispopulation von heute 82‘000 bis in vier Jahren auf 106‘000 steigt. 

Als politischer Gefangener, der nach dem Willen Eurer Majestät im peinlichen Auftrag eines ausländischen Staates festgehalten wird, habe ich die Ehre, in den Mauern dieser Weltklasseeinrichtung zu leben. Wahrlich, Euer Königreich kennt keine Grenzen.

Während Ihres Besuchs in Belmarsh werden Sie Gelegenheit haben, die kulinarischen Köstlichkeiten zu kosten, die für Ihre treuen Untertanen mit einem grosszügigen Budget von zwei Pfund pro Tag zubereitet werden. Geniessen Sie die verschnittenen Thunfischköpfe und Undefinierbares, das angeblich aus Huhn hergestellt wird. Und keine Sorge, anders als in weniger bedeutenden Anstalten wie Alcatraz oder San Quentin gibt es kein gemeinsames Essen in einer Kantine. In Belmarsh speisen die Gefangenen allein in ihren Zellen, was die grösstmögliche Intimität der Mahlzeit gewährleistet.

Abgesehen von den geschmacklichen Genüssen kann ich Ihnen versichern, dass Belmarsh Ihren Untergebenen erlaubt, sich weiterzubilden. Der Bibelspruch 22:6 lautet: «Erziehe ein Kind in dem Weg, den es gehen soll, und wenn es alt ist, wird es nicht davon abweichen.» 

Sie werden auch die Gelegenheit haben, meinem verstorbenen Freund Manoel Santos die letzte Ehre zu erweisen, einem schwulen Mann, dem die Abschiebung nach Bolsonaros Brasilien drohte und der sich nur acht Meter von meiner Zelle entfernt mit einem kruden Strick aus seinem Bettlaken das Leben nahm. Seine exquisite Tenorstimme ist nun für immer verstummt.

Wenn Sie mehr über Belmarsh erfahren möchten, dann besuchen Sie den isoliertesten Ort innerhalb der Mauern: Das Gesundheitswesen oder «Hellcare», wie es seine Bewohner liebevoll nennen. Hier werden Sie sich über vernünftige Regeln wundern, die der Sicherheit aller dienen sollen: beispielsweise das Verbot des Schachspiels. Nur das offenbar weit weniger gefährliche Spiel Dame ist erlaubt.

Beobachten Sie auch die Warteschlangen an der Medikamentenausgabe.

Tief im Inneren von Hellcare befindet sich der herrlichste Ort in ganz Belmarsh, ja im ganzen Vereinigten Königreich: die Belmarsh End of Life Suite. Wenn Sie gut hinhören, werden Sie vielleicht die Schreie von Gefangenen hören: «Bruder, ich werde hier drin sterben.»

Aber keine Angst, in diesen Mauern gibt es auch Schönes zu entdecken. Erfreuen Sie sich an den malerischen Krähen, die im Stacheldraht nisten, und an den Hunderten von hungrigen Ratten, die Belmarsh ihr Zuhause nennen. Und wenn Sie im Frühjahr kommen, können Sie vielleicht sogar einen Blick auf die Entenküken erhaschen, die von verirrten Stockenten auf dem Gelände des Gefängnisses abgelegt wurden. Aber beeilen Sie sich, denn die gefrässigen Ratten sorgen dafür, dass das Leben der Stockenten nur von kurzer Dauer ist.

Ich beschwöre Euch, König Charles III, das Gefängnis seiner Majestät in Belmarsh zu besuchen, denn es ist eine Ehre, die einem König gebührt. Möget Ihr Euch zu Beginn Eurer Regentschaft immer an die Worte der King James Bibel erinnern: «Selig sind die Barmherzigen, denn sie werden Barmherzigkeit erlangen» (Matthäus 5:7). Und möge die Barmherzigkeit die Richtschnur Ihres Reiches sein, sowohl innerhalb als auch ausserhalb der Mauern von Belmarsh.

Ihr ergebenster Untertan,

Julian Assange

Originally published here.

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Carta de Julian Assange al Rey de Inglaterra, Carlos III

A Su Majestad el Rey Carlos III,

En la coronación de mi señor, pensé que sería oportuno extenderle una sincera invitación para conmemorar esta trascendental ocasión visitando un reino dentro de su reino: la Prisión de Su Majestad en Belmarsh.

Sin duda, recordará usted las sabias palabras de un renombrado dramaturgo: “La gracia de la misericordia no se fuerza; cae como la suave lluvia sobre el bajo”.

Ah, pero ¿qué sabrá ese bardo de la piedad ante el ajuste de cuentas en los albores de vuestro histórico reinado? Después de todo, uno puede realmente conocer la medida de una sociedad por la forma en que trata a sus prisioneros, y su reino seguramente se ha destacado en ese sentido.

La prisión de Su Majestad en Belmarsh está ubicada en la prestigiosa dirección de One Western Way de Londres, a poca distancia del Old Royal Naval College en Greenwich. Qué delicia debe ser que una institución tan estimada lleve su nombre.

Es aquí donde se encuentran recluidos 687 de sus súbditos leales, lo que respalda un récord del Reino Unido como la nación con la población carcelaria más grande de Europa Occidental. Como su noble gobierno ha declarado recientemente, su reino está experimentando actualmente “la mayor expansión carcelaria en más de un siglo”, con sus ambiciosas proyecciones que muestran un aumento de presos de 82.000 a 106.000 en los próximos cuatro años. Sin duda, todo un legado.

Como preso político, retenido por placer de Su Majestad en nombre de un soberano extranjero avergonzado, me siento honrado de residir dentro de los muros de esta institución de clase mundial. De verdad que su reino no tiene límites.

Durante su visita, tendrá la oportunidad de disfrutar las delicias culinarias preparadas para sus fieles súbditos con un generoso presupuesto de dos libras al día. Podrá saborear las pócimas hechas con cabezas de atún y los omnipresentes pollos procesados. Eso en caso de que sean pollos. Pero no se preocupe, porque a diferencia de instituciones menores como Alcatraz o San Quentin, no hay cenas comunitarias en un comedor. En Belmarsh, los presos cenan solos en sus celdas, asegurando la máxima intimidad con su comida.

Más allá de los placeres gastronómicos, le puedo asegurar que Belmarsh brinda amplias oportunidades educativas para sus sujetos. Como dice Proverbios 22:6: “Instruye al niño en su camino, que cuando se haga viejo no se apartará de él”. Observará también las colas para recibir medicamentos, donde los reclusos se alinean para recoger sus medicamentos, no para el uso diario, sino para poder tener la experiencia de una expansión de sus horizontes durante ese “gran día”.

También tendrá la oportunidad de presentar sus respetos a mi difunto amigo Manoel Santos, un hombre gay que se enfrentaba a la deportación al Brasil de Bolsonaro, y quien se quitó la vida a solo ocho metros de mi celda con una cuerda tosca hecha con sus sábanas. Su exquisita voz de tenor ahora ha sido silenciada para siempre.

Luego podrá visitar las regiones más profundas de Belmarsh para encontrar el lugar más aislado dentro de sus muros: el lugar donde se cuida la salud o, dicho de otra forma, el infierno (healthcare o “Hellcare”), como lo llaman cariñosamente sus habitantes. Aquí, se maravillará con las reglas sensatas reglas de la seguridad para bien de todos, como la prohibición de jugar al ajedrez y el permiso de un juego mucho menos peligroso como las damas.

A su vez, en lo más profundo de Hellcare (“centro de cuidados del infierno”) se encuentra el lugar más gloriosamente edificante de todo Belmarsh. ¿Pero qué digo? De todo el Reino Unido: el sublimemente llamado “la suite para el final de la vida en Belmarsh”. Si presta atención, es posible que escuche los gritos de los prisioneros. “Hermano, voy a morir aquí” como un testimonio de la calidad de la vida y de la muerte dentro de su prisión.

Pero no se preocupe, porque no todo es malo. También se puede encontrar con la belleza dentro de estas paredes. Se podrá entretener mirando los pintorescos cuervos que anidan en el alambre de púas y los cientos de ratas hambrientas que también consideran a Belmarsh su hogar. Si usted decide venir en primavera, es posible que pueda ver a los patitos descarriados dentro de los terrenos de la prisión. No se demore, porque las ratas hambrientas se aseguran de que sus vidas sean fugaces.

Le imploro, rey Carlos, que visite la prisión de Su Majestad en Belmarsh, porque sería un honor digno de un rey. Al embarcarse a su reinado, recuerde siempre las palabras de la Biblia King James: “Bienaventurados los misericordiosos, porque ellos alcanzarán misericordia” (Mateo 5:7). Y que la misericordia sea la luz que guíe su reino, tanto dentro como fuera de los muros de Belmarsh.

Lo saluda atentamente, su vasallo,

Julian Assange

Originally published here.

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List Juliana Assangea Karolovi III pri príležitosti jeho korunovácie

Jeho Veličenstvu kráľovi Karolovi III.

Pri príležitosti korunovácie môjho panovníka považujem za jediné vhodné ponúknuť Vám moje srdečné pozvanie na oslavu tejto výnimočnej udalosti návštevou Vášho osobného kráľovstva v kráľovstve: Väznice Jeho Veličenstva Belmarsh.

Určite si spomeniete na múdre slová známeho dramatika: „Veľkosť milosrdenstva je neobmedzená. Kvapká ako jemný dážď z neba na miesta pod ním.“

Ach, ale čo už len tento bard vie o milosrdenstve, keď čelí poslednému súdu na úsvite Vášho historického vládnutia? Koniec koncov, úroveň spoločnosti sa dá vskutku spoznať podľa toho, ako zaobchádza so svojimi väzňami – a Vaše kráľovstvo v tomto smere určite vyniká.

Väznica Vášho Veličenstva Belmarsh sa nachádza na prestížnej adrese One Western Way v Londýne, len kúsok od Old Royal Naval College v Greenwichi. Ó, aké lichotivé musí byť, keď takáto vážená inštitúcia nesie Vaše meno.

V tomto väzení sa nachádza 687 Vašich verných poddaných, čo potvrdzuje rekord Spojeného kráľovstva ako krajiny s najväčším počtom väzňov v západnej Európe. Ako len nedávno vyhlásila Vaša vznešená vláda, Vaše kráľovstvo v súčasnosti vykonáva „najväčšie rozšírenie počtu väzenských miest za posledných viac ako sto rokov“. Držiac sa ambicióznych prognóz, počet väzňov sa v nasledujúcich štyroch rokoch zvýši z 82 000 na 106 000. Vskutku impozantný odkaz budúcim generáciám.

Ako politický väzeň, ktorého držia pre potešenie Vášho Veličenstva ako reprezentanta poníženého cudzieho suverénneho štátu mám tú česť bývať medzi múrmi tejto prvotriednej inštitúcie. Skutočne, Vaše kráľovstvo nepozná hraníc.

Počas Vašej návštevy si budete môcť pochutnať na kulinárskych špecialitách pripravených pre Vašich verných poddaných v medziach štedrého rozpočtu dve libry na deň. Vychutnáte si rozmixovanú hlavu tuniaka a všestranne použiteľné kúsky, ktoré sú vraj vyrobené z kuracieho mäsa. A nemajte obavy, lebo na rozdiel od menej významných inštitúcií ako napríklad Alcatraz alebo San Quentin, stravovanie neprebieha v spoločnej jedálni. V Belmarshi jedia väzni vo svojich celách, čo im pri jedle zaručuje maximálnu intimitu.

Môžem Vás ubezpečiť, že okrem chuťových pôžitkov poskytuje Belmarsh Vašim poddaným aj dostatok vzdelávacích príležitostí. Ako sa píše v Prísloví 22,6: „Pouč chlapca na začiatku jeho cesty a neodchýli sa od nej ani v starobe.“ Všimnite si vlečúce sa rady pri okienku, kde si väzni vyzdvihujú predpísané lieky. Nie na každodenné použitie, ale na rozšírenie vnímania ako na hudobnom festivale – všetko naraz.

Budete mať tiež príležitosť vzdať úctu môjmu zosnulému priateľovi Manoelovi Santosovi, homosexuálovi, ktorému hrozila deportácia do Bolsonarovej Brazílie. Vzal si život len necelých osem metrov od mojej cely pomocou hrubého lana vyrobeného z posteľných plachiet. Jeho nádherný tenorový hlas navždy utíchol.

Vydajte sa do hlbín Belmarshu a nájdete najizolovanejšie miesto medzi týmito múrmi: Zdravotná starostlivosť alebo Pekelná starostlivosť, ako ju láskyplne nazývajú jej obyvatelia. Budete žasnúť nad citlivými pravidlami navrhnutými pre bezpečnosť všetkých. Napríklad zákaz šachu, pričom oveľa menej nebezpečná hra dáma je povolená.

Hlboko v Pekelnej starostlivosti leží najviac úchvatné a povznášajúce miesto v celom Belmarshi, ba čo viac, v celom Spojenom kráľovstve: nádherne pomenované Apartmán na konca života. Keď budete pozorne počúvať, možno budete počuť výkriky: „Brácho, ja tu zomriem.“ Sú dôkazom kvality života aj smrti vo Vašom väzení.

Ale nemajte obavy, aj v týchto múroch sa nachádza krása. Pokochajte sa pohľadom na pitoreskné vrany hniezdiace v ostnatom drôte a stovky hladných potkanov, nazývajúcich Belmarsh svojím domovom. Ak prídete na jar, môžete dokonca zahliadnuť kačiatka, ktoré v areáli väznice vysedeli neposedné divé kačice. Ale neotáľajte dlho, lebo pažravé potkany sa postarajú o to, aby zmizli.

Zaprisahávam Vás, kráľ Karol, navštívte väznicu Jeho Veličenstva Belmarsh – je to pocta hodná kráľa. Keď sa pustíte do vládnutia, majte vždy na pamäti slová Biblie kráľa Jakuba: „Blahoslavení milosrdní, lebo im sa dostane milosrdenstva.“ (Matúš 5,7). Nech je milosrdenstvo svetlom sprevádzajúcim Vaše kráľovstvo, v múroch Belmarshu aj mimo nich.

Váš najoddanejší poddaný,

Julian Assange

A9379AY

Originally published here.

Categories
Press Clippings

朱利安·阿桑奇致英王查尔斯三世的信函

2023年5月5日

查尔斯三世国王陛下：

在陛下加冕之际，我诚挚邀请您访问王国中的王国——陛下的贝尔马什监狱。以此来纪念这一重大时刻，我认为是非常合适的。

毫无疑问，您会想起一位著名剧作家的睿智之言：“慈悲并非出于勉强，它就像甘霖，从天而降。”

但在您即将当政的历史时刻，却面临着清算，那个吟游诗人对仁慈又能有几许了解？毕竟，人们可以通过对待囚犯的方式来真正了解一个社会的尺度，而您的王国在这方面曾经非常出色。

陛下的贝尔马什监狱位于伦敦著名的西部大道1号（ One Western Way， London），距离格林威治的旧皇家海军学院很近。这样一个受人尊敬的机构以您的名字命名，一定很愉快吧。

687名您的忠实臣民正被关押在这里，证明了英国是西欧服刑人数最多的国家这一事实。正如您卓越的政府最近声明的那样，您的王国正经历“一个多世纪以来最大规模的监狱扩建”，它雄心勃勃地预测，未来四年内，服刑人员将从八万两千名增加到十万六千。真是好一笔遗产！

作为一名政治犯，能代表一位困窘的异国要人被您随意关押，居住在这座世界级监狱的高墙之内，我感到万分荣幸。真的，您的王国真是无所不能。

访问期间，您将有机会享用以每天两英镑的慷慨预算为您的忠实臣民准备的美食，品尝混合金枪鱼头和每餐必不可少，据称是鸡肉制成，已经不辨形状的糊糊。别担心，因为与美国的恶魔岛监狱（Alcatra）和美国加州圣奎丁监狱（San Quentin）等小监狱不同，我们不用在餐厅里集体用餐。在贝尔马什监狱，囚犯们在牢房里单独用餐，以确保他们与自己的餐食亲密无间。

除了美食，我可以向您保证，贝尔马什监狱还为您的臣民提供了大量的受教育机会。正如《旧约》的箴言22：6所说：“教养孩童，使他走当行的道，就是到老他也不会偏离。”观察下医药室窗前拖着脚的队伍吧，囚犯们在那里领药，不是为了日常使用，而是为了在让人大开眼界的“大限之日”一次用完，一了百了。

您还有机会向我已故的朋友马诺埃尔·桑托斯（Manoel Santos）致敬，他是一名同性恋者，即将被驱逐到由博索纳罗总统当政的巴西。在距我的牢房八码（约7.3米）之遥的地方，他用床单制成的粗绳了结了自己的生命。再也听不到他那优美的男高音了。

迈步进入贝尔马什监狱的深处，您会发现监狱里最与世隔绝的地方：医疗区，犯人们亲切地称之为“地狱区”。在这里，您会惊叹于为每个人的安全而设计的明智规则，比如禁止下国际象棋，却允许下危险性小得多的跳棋。

而在“地狱区”的最深处，就是贝尔马什监狱，不，全英国，最令人振奋的美妙之地：那就是冠冕堂皇地称之为“贝尔马什临终套房”的地方。仔细听，您或许会听到囚犯们喊着：“哥们，我要死在这儿啦。”这就是对您这所监狱里生存和死亡的质量所作的证言。

但别害怕，因为高墙之内也可以找到美。尽情欣赏在尖利的铁丝网上筑巢的美妙乌鸦和居住在监狱里的数百只饥饿的老鼠吧。如果您春天到访，或许您还能瞥见任性的绿头鸭在监狱里生下的小鸭子。但别来得太晚，因为贪婪的老鼠会确保小鸭子们的生命转瞬即逝。

查尔斯国王，恳请您参观您的贝尔马什监狱，因为这是一种适合国王的光荣之举。当您开始您的统治时，愿您永远记住钦定版《圣经》中的话：“怜恤之人有福了，因为他们必蒙怜恤。”（马太福音5：7）。愿仁慈成为您王国的指路明灯，普照在贝尔马什监狱内外。

您最忠实的臣民

朱利安·阿桑奇

A9379AY

Categories
Post Press Clippings

A Kingly Proposal

5 May 2023

To His Majesty King Charles III,

On the coronation of my liege, I thought it only fitting to extend a heartfelt invitation to you to commemorate this momentous occasion by visiting your very own kingdom within a kingdom: His Majesty’s Prison Belmarsh.

You will no doubt recall the wise words of a renowned playwright: “The quality of mercy is not strained. It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven upon the place beneath.”

Ah, but what would that bard know of mercy faced with the reckoning at the dawn of your historic reign? After all, one can truly know the measure of a society by how it treats its prisoners, and your kingdom has surely excelled in that regard.

Your Majesty’s Prison Belmarsh is located at the prestigious address of One Western Way, London, just a short foxhunt from the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich. How delightful it must be to have such an esteemed establishment bear your name.

It is here that 687 of your loyal subjects are held, supporting the United Kingdom’s record as the nation with the largest prison population in Western Europe. As your noble government has recently declared, your kingdom is currently undergoing “the biggest expansion of prison places in over a century”, with its ambitious projections showing an increase of the prison population from 82,000 to 106,000 within the next four years. Quite the legacy, indeed.

As a political prisoner, held at Your Majesty’s pleasure on behalf of an embarrassed foreign sovereign, I am honoured to reside within the walls of this world class institution. Truly, your kingdom knows no bounds.

During your visit, you will have the opportunity to feast upon the culinary delights prepared for your loyal subjects on a generous budget of two pounds per day. Savour the blended tuna heads and the ubiquitous reconstituted forms that are purportedly made from chicken. And worry not, for unlike lesser institutions such as Alcatraz or San Quentin, there is no communal dining in a mess hall. At Belmarsh, prisoners dine alone in their cells, ensuring the utmost intimacy with their meal.

Beyond the gustatory pleasures, I can assure you that Belmarsh provides ample educational opportunities for your subjects. As Proverbs 22:6 has it: “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Observe the shuffling queues at the medicine hatch, where inmates gather their prescriptions, not for daily use, but for the horizon-expanding experience of a “big day out”—all at once.

You will also have the opportunity to pay your respects to my late friend Manoel Santos, a gay man facing deportation to Bolsonaro’s Brazil, who took his own life just eight yards from my cell using a crude rope fashioned from his bedsheets. His exquisite tenor voice now silenced forever.

Venture further into the depths of Belmarsh and you will find the most isolated place within its walls: Healthcare, or “Hellcare” as its inhabitants lovingly call it. Here, you will marvel at sensible rules designed for everyone’s safety, such as the prohibition of chess, whilst permitting the far less dangerous game of checkers.

Deep within Hellcare lies the most gloriously uplifting place in all of Belmarsh, nay, the whole of the United Kingdom: the sublimely named Belmarsh End of Life Suite. Listen closely, and you may hear the prisoners’ cries of “Brother, I’m going to die in here”, a testament to the quality of both life and death within your prison.

But fear not, for there is beauty to be found within these walls. Feast your eyes upon the picturesque crows nesting in the razor wire and the hundreds of hungry rats that call Belmarsh home. And if you come in the spring, you may even catch a glimpse of the ducklings laid by wayward mallards within the prison grounds. But don’t delay, for the ravenous rats ensure their lives are fleeting.

I implore you, King Charles, to visit His Majesty’s Prison Belmarsh, for it is an honour befitting a king. As you embark upon your reign, may you always remember the words of the King James Bible: “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy” (Matthew 5:7). And may mercy be the guiding light of your kingdom, both within and without the walls of Belmarsh.

Your most devoted subject,

Julian Assange
A9379AY

Read the letter in Chinese.

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Categories
Post Press Release

International clamour to free Assange grows on World Press Freedom Day

On World Press Freedom Day Amnesty International and other human rights and journalists’ organisations have re-doubled their demand that Julian Assange be set free.
 
Amnesty General Secretary Agnes Callamard called for the immediate release of Julian Assange at UNESCO’s World Press Freedom Day opening ceremony. She said, “We need to resist double standards… It is not just what is happening in Iran or in Russia that should worry us, it is also what’s happening here, who is imprisoning Julian Assange?” 

President of Committee to Protect Journalists, Jodie Ginsberg, speaking at the same event said, “The one thing the US could concretely do, is drop the charges against Julian Assange, its a charge that if brought to fruition, could effectively criminalize journalism everywhere.”

You can read Unesco’s Joint statement on freedom of expression here: https://www.unesco.org/en/days/press-freedom-2023/joint-statement

Stella Assange, Julian Assange’s wife, was speaking in Norway today at the invitation of PEN Norway for screening of the documentary Ithaka, the award winning documentary film about the campaign to free Assange.

The European Federation of Journalists have issued a statement declaring Assange to be a member of the IFJ, an organisation only open to journalists. The signed letter says: “We, the undersigned European unions and associations of journalists, join the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) in calling on the US government to drop all charges against Julian Assange and allow him to return home to his wife and children.” The statement is significant because the US government case depends on denying that Assange is a working journalist.

In another blow to the US case against Julian Assange he has been made an honorary member of the French National Union of Journalists SNJ. A membership card will be sent to his family in the coming days.

Last Thursday during the International Festival of Civil Journalism Stella Assange received Pimentel Fonseca Award, for her courage in defending, through the case of Julian Assange, the right to freedom of the press of all journalists in the world, at the Italian Institute for Philosophical Studies in Naples, Italy. “I am incredibly honored to receive this award, I think that every generation has a duty to take up the baton and pass it on to the next ones “ Stella said after receiving the award.

Categories
Parliamentary Actions Post Press Clippings

Brasilian lawmakers send letter to DOJ

Solenidade de abertura do Ano Legislativo do Congresso Nacional. Presenca do ministro da Casa Civil, Eliseu Padilha

Up to 100 Brazilian parliamentarians sign letter urging the US to cease it prosecution of WikiLeaks journalist and publisher Julian Assange, citing chilling precedent that extradition would set for other journalists and publishers around the world

Brazilian Lawmakers Letter to US PresidentDownload
Categories
Parliamentary Actions Post Press Clippings

Mexican lawmakers ask US to withdraw charges against Julian Assange

97 Mexican lawmakers join calls for immediate release of WikiLeaks journalist and publisher Julian Assange who has been detained 4 years at the UK’s maximum security Belmarsh prison.

President Joseph Biden
Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr President of the United States of America,
Dear Speaker of the House,

We write to you as Members of the Mexican parliament to express our collective concerns about the US request to extradite the journalist and publisher, Julian Paul Assange, from the UK to the US, and the chilling precedent that extradition would set for other journalists and publishers around the world.

The political nature of the offense prohibits extradition

The US superseding indictment issued against Mr Assange on 24 June 2020 charges him with 18 counts all related solely to the 2010 publications of US government documents. Charges 1-17 are brought under the Espionage Act 1917, even though espionage is widely recognized as a political offense under international law. The UK-US Extradition Treaty that forms the basis of the extradition request specifically prohibits extradition for political offenses. So, too, does the 1957 European Convention on Extradition, the European Convention on Human Rights, the UN Model Treaty on Extradition, the Interpol Constitution, and other bilateral treaties ratified by the US. This principle is also enshrined in the Inter-American Human Rights System, which also upholds the right to political asylum.

Mr Assange undertook standard investigative journalistic practices, which include receiving classified information from a source inside the government and then publishing that information in the public interest. The charges under the Espionage Act would criminalize these routine practices, which are protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. It was in recognition of the irreconcilable conflict between these charges and the First Amendment that the Obama Administration rightly refused to charge Mr Assange with espionage because it would criminalize the standard journalistic practice.

Risk of being subjected to an unfair trial in the US

Mr Assange’s legal privilege, a right enshrined in Art. 8 European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and long recognized under English common law, was grossly violated through constant and criminal video and audio surveillance at the Ecuadorian embassy carried out by the Spanish security firm, UC Global. This surveillance was, according to witness testimony, ordered by the CIA and has triggered an investigation into the owner of UC Global, David Morales, by Spain’s High Court, the Audiencia Nacional. The surveillance resulted in all of Mr Assange’s meetings and conversations being recorded, including those with his lawyers. The Council of Bar and Law Societies of Europe, which represents more than a million European lawyers, has expressed its concerns that these illegal recordings may be used – openly or secretly – in proceedings against Mr Assange in the event of successful extradition to the US. The Council states that if the information merely became known to the prosecutors, this would present an irremediable breach of Mr Assange’s fundamental rights to a fair trial under Art. 6 of the ECHR and due process under the US Constitution. The UN Model Treaty on Extradition prohibits extradition if the person has not received, or would not receive, the minimum guarantees in criminal proceedings, as enshrined in Art. 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

Judicial Conflicts of Interest

Senior District Judge (Magistrates’ Courts) Emma Arbuthnot, who as Chief Magistrate oversees Mr Assange’s extradition proceedings, has been shown to have financial links to institutions and individuals whose wrongdoings have been exposed by WikiLeaks, the organization which Mr Assange founded. This seemingly clear conflict of interest was, however, not disclosed by the District Judge. District Judge Arbuthnot did not recuse herself and was permitted to make rulings to Mr Assange’s detriment, despite the perceived lack of judicial impartiality and independence.

Mr Assange was arrested on 11 April 2019 and is now one of the longest-serving prisoners on remand in the United Kingdom.

We respectfully call on your Administration and American Congress to renew trust in the rule of international law, and the rule of law in the United States, by dropping the charges against Mr Assange and bringing an end to the ongoing extradition proceedings.

We add ours to an ever-growing public voice across civil society, human rights organizations, press groups, and the political and judicial class proclaiming that Mr Assange’s persecution must be halted. We fully agree with the Council of Europe, which considers Mr Assange’s treatment to be among “the most severe threats to media freedom,” and with the EU Parliament and parliamentarians worldwide, who oppose the extradition and express concerns about the violations of Mr Assange’s fundamental human, civil, and political rights.

We join in the call for Mr Assange’s immediate release made by international organizations at the United Nations, Amnesty International, other human rights advocates, and legal, medical and other professional associations. 

We urge the U.S. Justice Department to drop all charges against Mr Assange. 

With all our best regards and wishes for mutual cooperation,

Minerva Citlalli Hernández Mora
Senadora por la Ciudad de México

Freyda Marybel Villegas Canché
Senadora por Quintana Roo

Cecilia Margarita
Sánchez García
Senadora por Campeche

Jesús Lucía Trasviña Waldenrath
Senadora por Baja California Sur

Navor Alberto Rojas Mancera
Senador por Hidalgo

Olga María del Carmen Sánchez Cordero
Senadora

Reyes Flores Hurtado
Senador por Coahuila

Imelda Castro Castro
Senadora por Sinaloa

Sasil de León Villard
Senadora por Chiapas

Oscar Eduardo Ramírez Aguilar
Senador por Chiapas

Sergio Pérez Flores
Senador por Morelos

María Antonieta Cárdenas Mariscal
Senadora por Jalisco

Lilia Margarita Valdez Martínez
Senadora por Durango

Héctor Vasconcelos
Senador

Higinio Martínez Miranda
Senador por el Estado de México

Griselda Valencia de la Mora
Senadora por Colima

Antares Guadalupe Vázquez Alatorre
Senadora

César Arnulfo Cravioto Romero
Senador por la Ciudad de México

Katya Elizabeth Ávila Vázquez
Senadora

Mónica Fernández Balboa
Senadora por Tabasco

Verónica Noemí Camino Farjat
Senadora por Yucatán

Marcela Mora
Senadora

Lucía Meza
Senadora por Morelos

Gilberto Herrera Ruiz
Senador por Querétaro

Raúl Paz Alonso
Senador por Yucatán

Gloria Sánchez Hernández
Senadora por Veracruz

Eunice Renata Romo Molina
Senadora

Nestora Salgado García
Senadora por Guerrero

José Narro Céspedes
Senador por Zacatecas

Ricardo Velázquez Meza
Senador por Baja California Sur

Cristóbal Arias Solis
Senador por Michoacán

Martha Lucía Micher Camarena
Senadora por Guanajuato

José Ramón Enríquez Herrera
Senador por Durango

Ovidio Salvador Peralta Suárez
Senador por Tabasco

Ma. Guadalupe Covarrubias
Senadora por Tamaulipas

Ana Lilia Rivera Rivera
Senadora por Tlaxcala

Alejandro Armenta Mier
Senador por Puebla

Casimiro Méndez Ortiz
Senador

Raúl de Jesus Elenes Angulo
Senador por Sinaloa

Maria Soledad Luévano Cantú
Senadora por Zacatecas

Arturo del Carmen Moo Cahuich
Senador por Campeche

Napoleón Gómez Urrutia
Senador

María Merced González González
Senadora por Hidalgo

Daniel Gutiérrez Castorena
Senador por Aguascalientes

Adolfo Gómez Hernández
Senador por Oaxaca

Manuel Vázquez Arellano
Diputado Federal

Jorge Alberto Barrera Toledo
Diputado Federal

Aleida Alavez Ruiz
Diputada Federal

Andrea Chávez Treviño
Diputada Federal

Mario Alberto Torres
Diputado Federal

Leticia Chavez
Diputada Federal

Hamlet García Almaguer
Diputado Federal

Susana Prieto Terrazas
Diputada Federal

Maximiano Barboza Llamas
Diputado Federal

José Luis Flores Pacheco
Diputado Federal

Yeidckol Polevnsky
Diputada Federal

María Guadalupe Chavira de la Rosa
Diputada Federal

Javier Huerta Jurado
Diputado Federal

Alma Delia Navarrete Rivera
Diputada Federal

Karla Estrella Díaz García
Diputada Federal

Olimpia Tamara Girón
Diputada Federal

Juan Guadalupe Torres Navarro
Diputado Federal

Erika Vanessa del Castillo Ibarra
Diputada Federal

José Guadalupe Ambrocio Gachuz
Diputado Federal

Graciela Sánchez Ortiz
Diputado Federal

María Clemente García Moreno
Diputada Federal

Jaime Humberto Pérez Bernabé
Diputado Federal

Ángel Miguel Rodríguez Torres
Diputado Federal

Alejandro Robles
Diputado Federal

Arturo Hernández Tapia
Diputado Federal

Raymundo Atanacio Luna
Diputado Federal

Steve del Razo Montiel
Diputado Federal

Armando Corona Arvizu
Diputado Federal

Ana Elizabeth Ayala Leyva
Diputada Federal

Martín Sandoval Soto
Diputado Federal

Otoniel García Montiel
Diputado Federal

Leticia Estrada Hernández
Diputada Local de la Ciudad de México

Cirse Camacho
Diputada local de la Ciudad de México

Martha Soledad Avila Ventura
Diputada local de la Ciudad de México

Miriam Valeria Cruz Flores
Diputada local de la Ciudad de México

Ana Francis López Bayghen Patiño
Diputada local de la Ciudad de México

Héctor Díaz Polanco
Diputado local de la Ciudad de México

Marcela Fuente Castillo
Diputada local de la Ciudad de México

Nancy Marlene Núñez Reséndiz
Diputada local de la Ciudad de México

Xóchitl Bravo Espinosa
Diputada local de la Ciudad de México

José Martin Padilla Sánchez
Diputado local por la Ciudad de México

Miguel Ángel Macedo Escartín
Diputado local de la Ciudad de México

Yuriri Ayala Zúñiga
Diputada local de la Ciudad de México

Alejandra Méndez Vicuña
Diputada local de la Ciudad de México

José Fernando Mercado Guaida
Diputado local de la Ciudad de México

Valentina Valia Batres Guadarrama
Diputada local de la Ciudad de México

Christian Moctezuma González
Diputado local de la Ciudad de México

Nazario Norberto Sánchez
Diputado local de la Ciudad de México

María Guadalupe Chávez Contreras
Diputada local de la Ciudad de México

Esperanza Villalobos Pérez
Diputada local de la Ciudad de México

Marisela Zúñiga Cerón
Diputada local de la Ciudad de México

Carlos Hernández Mirón
Diputado local de la Ciudad de México

Mexican Lawmakers Letter to US President – EnglishDownload
Mexican Lawmakers Letter to US President – SpanishDownload
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Parliamentary Actions Post Press Clippings

Australian Lawmakers send a Letter to US Attorney General Merrick Garland – Free Assange

Australian parliamentarians from across political sides, MPs and senators, have signed a letter to US Attorney-General Merrick Garland urging him to end the pursuit of the WikiLeaks co-founder, coinciding with the fourth anniversary of Assange’s imprisonment in the UK prison.

Andrew Wilkie MP, Independent Member for Clark in the Australian Federal Parliament said:

“The widespread political concern for Julian Assange is a powerful reminder that this terrible saga has gone on for much too long and must be brought to an end.

The 48 Australian federal parliamentarians who put their name to the formal letter of concern, in concert with similar letters from parliamentarians from around the world, represents millions of constituents. This is no small matter and must not be dismissed.

Nor should it be ignored that the outpouring of political concern spans the political spectrum and is based on a diverse range of reasons. This reflects how the injustice being endured by Julian Assange is so wrong on so many levels. It must be brought to an end.

The parliamentarian effort was welcomed by leaders of civil society organizations who have warned of thegrave implications this case has for press freedom around the world.”

The letter says:

“If the extradition request is approved, Australians will witness the deportation of one of our citizens from one AUKUS partner to another – our closest strategic ally – with Mr Assange facing the prospect of spending the rest of his life in prison. This would set a dangerous precedent for all global citizens, journalists, publishers, media organizations and the freedom of the press. It would also be needlessly damaging for the US as a world leader on freedom of expression and the rule of law.“

Australian Letter to US AG Merrick GarlandDownload
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Parliamentary Actions Post Press Clippings

Democrats call for AG Merrick Garland to cease proceedings against WikiLeaks Julian Assange

U.S. policymakers cosigned a letter to AG Merrick Garland calling on the Department of Justice to uphold the First Amendment’s protections for the freedom of the press by dropping the Trump-era charges against Australian publisher Julian Assange and withdrawing the American extradition request currently pending with the British government.

The letter is lead by Michigan Representative Rashida Tlaib and joined by New York Reps Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jamaal Bowman, Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley, Texas Rep. Greg Casar, Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, and Missouri Rep. Cori Bush. The letter comes on fourth anniversary of Assange’s detention at UK’s harshest prison.

“The prosecution of Julian Assange for carrying out journalistic activities greatly diminishes America’s credibility as a defender of these values, undermining the United States’ moral standing on the world stage, and effectively granting cover to authoritarian governments who can (and do) point to Assange’s prosecution to reject evidence-based criticisms of their human rights records and as a precedent that justifies the criminalization of reporting on their activities. Leaders of democracies, major international bodies, and parliamentarians around the globe stand opposed to the prosecution of Assange,” the lawmakers wrote.

Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib said:

“Four years ago today, Julian Assange was arrested for publishing the truth. I’m leading a letter to Attorney General Garland urging him to uphold the freedom of the press by dropping these Trump-era charges and withdrawing the extradition request.”

Congressional Letter to DOJ on Julian Assange IndictmentDownload
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Post

4 years since Julian Assange has been incarcerated in the UK prison – Reactions and comments

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Parliamentary Actions Post Press Release

UK Politicians Letter to US Attorney General Merrick Garland – Drop the charges against Assange

Over 30 Parliamentarians, from six parties as well as independent MPs and Lords, have written to the US Attorney General sent today, 11 April, requesting that he “ends the extradition proceedings against Julian Assange.”

The British MPs are joined by lawmakers in the United States, Australia, Mexico, and Brazil who are also writing to the US government asking for proceedings against Assange to be dropped.

The letter from British MPs notes that, “This April 11th marks the fourth anniversary of Mr Assange, an award-winning journalist and publisher, being detained in His Majesty’s Prison Belmarsh in London, where he awaits a decision on extradition to the United States of America.”

The parliamentarians warn that extradition “would clearly have a chilling impact on journalism and would set a dangerous precedent for other journalists and media organisations. It would also undermine the US’ reputation on freedom of expression and the rule of law.”

They call upon the US Attorney General to “take a stance to uphold the First Amendment of the US Constitution and drop the extradition proceedings to allow Mr Assange to return home to Australia.”

The full letter is below.

On the call to end extradition, Richard Burgon MP said:

“British Parliamentarians are increasingly alarmed by the potential extradition of Julian Assange to the United States. Any extradition would, in effect, be putting press freedom on trial. It would set a dangerous precedent for journalists and publishers around the world.

Four years on since Julian Assange was first detained in Belmarsh High-Security prison, now is the right moment to draw a line under this outrageous prosecution initiated by the Trump Administration, drop the charges against Julian Assange and allow him to return home to Australia.”

THE LIST OF SIGNATORIES

MPs

Richard Burgon MP (Labour) 

David Davis MP (Conservative Party)

Caroline Lucas MP (Green Party)

John McDonnell MP (Labour Party)

Angus MacNeil MP (Scottish National Party)

Liz Saville-Roberts MP (Plaid Cymru)

Jeremy Corbyn MP

Kenny MacAskill MP (Alba Party)

Diane Abbott MP (Labour Party)

Apsana Begum MP (Labour Party)

Ian Byrne MP (Labour Party)

Dan Carden MP (Labour Party)

Ben Lake MP (Plaid Cymru)

Clive Lewis MP (Labour Party)

Rachael Maskell MP (Labour Party)

Andy McDonald MP (Labour Party)

Grahame Morris MP (Labour Party)

Kate Osborne MP (Labour Party)

Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP (Labour Party)

Tommy Sheppard MP (Scottish National Party)

Zarah Sultana MP (Labour Party)

Claudia Webbe MP (Independent)

Mick Whitley MP (Labour)

LORDS

Baroness Jane Bonham-Carter (Liberal Democrat Party)

Baroness Caroline Cox (Cross-bench)

Lord Bryn Davies (Labour Party)

Lord Hugh Dykes (Liberal Democrat Party)

Lord John Hendy KC (Labour Party)

Baroness Molly Meacher (Cross-bench)

Lord Jonny Oates (Liberal Democrat Party)

Lord Diljit Rana (Conservative Party)

Lord Prem Sikka (Labour Party)

Lord Paul Strasburger (Liberal Democrat)

Lord Andrew Stunell (Liberal Democrat Party)

Lord Tony Woodley (Labour Party)

Baroness Jane Bonham-Carter (Liberal Democrat Party)

Lord Paul Strasburger (Liberal Democrat)

LETTER TO THE US ATTORNEY GENERAL

Merrick B. Garland
Attorney General of the United States of America
US Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
WASHINGTON DC 20530-0001

Dear Attorney General,

We write to you as members of the UK Houses of Parliament to request that you end the extradition proceedings against Julian Assange.

This April 11th marks the fourth anniversary of Mr Assange, an award-winning journalist and publisher, being detained in His Majesty’s Prison Belmarsh in London, where he awaits a decision on extradition to the United States of America.

As you will be aware, this threat of extradition follows a decision by the Trump Administration to bring charges against Mr Assange relating to his role as a journalist and publisher in publishing evidence of war crimes, corruption and human rights abuses.

If Mr Assange were to be extradited to the United States, he faces a prison sentence of up to 175 years for his publishing work which was carried out in the United Kingdom and in partnership with globally leading news outlets.

This would clearly have a chilling impact on journalism and would set a dangerous precedent for other journalists and media organisations. It would also undermine the US’ reputation on freedom of expression and the rule of law.

Given this, there is a growing clamour for the release of Julian Assange. Anthony Albanese, the Australian Prime Minister, has urged the United States to end the prosecution of Julian Assange, who is an Australian citizen. 
Likewise, extradition is opposed by the former United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture, Nils Melzer, and the Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović.

Globally leading human rights organisations such as Amnesty International and Reporters Without Borders have also warned against the impact of extradition and called on the United States to drop the charges.

As we approach the fourth anniversary of the detention of Julian Assange in the HMP Belmarsh we request that you take a stance to uphold the First Amendment of the US Constitution and drop the extradition proceedings to allow Mr Assange to return home to Australia.

Yours sincerely

UK MPs letter to US Attorney General Merrick GarlandDownload
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Post Press Release

Reporters Without Borders denied access to visit Julian Assange in Belmarsh prison

Earlier today Reporters Without Borders’ (RSF’s) Secretary-General Christophe Deloire and Director of Operations and Campaigns Rebecca Vincent arrived to visit Julian Assange inside Belmarsh prison but were denied access at the last minute.

RSF’s representatives had been granted permission to visit Assange before the four-year anniversary of his imprisonment in Belmarsh, where he has been held since 11 April 2019.

Christophe Deloire, RSF Secretary-General, said: “We are deeply disappointed by the arbitrary decision of the Belmarsh Prison Governor to prevent us from visiting Julian Assange, despite following all relevant prison procedures and rules. Julian Assange has the right to receive visitors in prison, and we are legitimate to visit him as a press freedom NGO. We call for an urgent reversal of this decision and to be allowed visitation access without further delay.”

Rebecca Vincent, RSF Director of Operations, said: “This is the latest in a long series of ludicrous obstacles that we have faced over the past three years in campaigning for the release of Julian Assange. At every level, British authorities have defaulted to secrecy and exclusion rather than allowing normal engagement around this case – from refusing to accept RSF petitions, to making it nearly impossible to access court, and now this. What do they have to hide? Regardless, we continue our campaign to #FreeAssange.“

WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Kristinn Hrafnsson commented on the news: “A press freedom NGO barred from visiting a political prisoner and a journalist (after visit had previously been confirmed). This is not Russia, China or North Korea but the United Kingdom. Remember this next time the UK Government tries to lecture you on lack of press freedom elsewhere.”

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Parliamentary Actions Post Press Clippings

III World Forum on Human Rights, Buenos Aires, Argentina 2023

Public Statement

We, the undersigned participants of the III World Forum on Human Rights, express our concern about the extradition requested by the United States of America in relation to the journalist and founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, currently on remand in subhuman conditions in the high
security prison of Belmarsh, in the United Kingdom.

Extraditing Julian Assange would set a dangerous precedent for press freedom and the right to access information globally. Not only would it be a life sentence against this journalist, Julian Assange, but it would act as a veiled threat to all journalists around the world who aim to do their job in an honest manner.

Mr. Assange is charged under the Espionage Act 1917, a law that has never been used against a journalist for publishing accurate information concerning egregious international crimes. The UK-US Extradition Treaty itself, which forms the basis for this extradition request, specifically prohibits extradition for political offences. The same is true of the 1957 European Convention on Extradition, the 1950 European Convention on Human Rights, the United Nations Model Treaty on Extradition, the Interpol Constitution and other bilateral treaties ratified by the United States of America. The prohibition on extradition for political offences is also enshrined in the Inter-American Human Rights System.

Mr. Assange engaged in normal practices of investigative journalism, such as receiving information from sources and then publishing that accurate information which was in the public interest. Charges under the Espionage Act would criminalise these routine journalistic practices, thus being a direct threat to the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

It was precisely this irreconcilable conflict between these charges and the First Amendment that led former President Barack Obama’s Administration to rightly deny an indictment against Mr. Assange because it would criminalise the practice of journalism at its core.

Mr. Assange was arrested on 11 April 2019 and is now one of the longest detainees on remand in the United Kingdom.

We the undersigned demand a renewed confidence on the international rule of law and that of the United States, by the latter withdrawing the charges against Mr. Assange and ending the ongoing extradition before the UK courts.

By this Statement we express our full agreement with the view of the Council of Europe, which considers the treatment of Mr. Assange to be among “the most serious threats to press freedom”.

With that in mind, we add our voices to a growing public outcry in civil society, human rights organisations such as Amnesty International, to that of United Nations agencies, the world’s leading media, press freedom associations, medical organisations, as well as most of the political and judicial agencies which have demanded a stop to the persecution of Mr. Assange and to proceed to his immediate release.

We urge the U.S. Department of Justice to drop all charges against Mr. Assange by relying on the U.S. Constitution itself, on human rights standards recognised by International Law, as well as fundamental humanitarian values, as the life of a journalist is at risk, and freedom of the press and the right to access to information globally are at risk.

Signatories:

  • Alberto Fernández, President of Argentina.
  • Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, Vice-President of Argentina.
  • Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, Nobel Peace Prize Recipient and Honorary President of the World Forum on Human Rights Argentina 2023.
  • Estela de Carlotto, Honorary President of the World Forum on Human Rights Argentina 2023.
  • Fernanda Gil Lozano, Executive Director International Centre for the Promotion of Human Rights
  • Mothers of Plaza de Mayo Association, Argentina.
  • Mothers of Plaza de Mayo Línea Fundadora, Argentina.
  • Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo, Argentina.
  • Tristán Bauer, Minister of Culture of Argentina.
  • Horacio Pietragalla Corti, Human Rights Secretary of Argentina.
  • Axel Kicillof, Governor of Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
  • Matías Capeluto, Director of Casa Patria Grande, Argentina.
  • Rafael Correa, Former President of Ecuador.
  • Ernesto Samper, Former President of Colombia.
  • Evo Morales, Former President of Bolivia.
  • Pepe Mujica, Former President of Uruguay.
  • José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, Former President of Spain.
  • Baltasar Garzón Real, Former Judge, and Coordinator of Julian Assange’s Legal Defence Team.
  • Pablo Gentili, Executive Secretary of the World Forum on Human Rights Argentina 2023.
  • Rodrigo Gómez Tortosa, Adjunct Executive Secretary of the World Forum on Human Rights Argentina 2023.
  • Adoración Guamán, Professor of Employment Law, Universitat de València, Spain.
  • Amina Masood Janjua, Activist, Pakistan.
  • Camila Cuasialpud, Executive Director, Vivamos Humanos, Colombia.
  • Camilo Lagos, Grupo de Puebla, Chile.
  • Cruz Melchor Eya Nchama, Human Rights Defender, Equatorial Guinea.
  • Enrique Santiago, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Spain.
  • Erick Alfredo Guerrero, Deputies Congress, Spain.
  • Felipe Llamas, Councillor, Más Madrid, Spain.
  • Gerardo Pisarello Prados, Head Professor of Constitutional Law, University of Barcelona, Spain.
  • Gabriela Alejandra Rivadeneira Burbano, Assembly Member, Ecuador.
  • Gisele Ricobom, Universidade Federal da Integração Latino-Americana, Foz do Iguaçu (UNILA), Brazil.
  • Hugo Martínez, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, El Salvador.
  • Juan Carlos Monedero Fernández, President of the República&Democracia Institute, Spain.
  • Kathia Sabrina Dudyk, Researcher, FLACSO, Brazil.
  • Marco Antonio Enríquez-Ominami Gamucio, Coordinator Grupo de Puebla, Chile.
  • Mónica Xavier, Former President of the Frente Amplio Coalition, Uruguay.
  • Natividad del Carmen Llanquileo Pilquimán, Former Member of the Constitutional Convention, Chile.
  • Nila Heredia Miranda, Former President of the Truth Commission, Bolivia.
  • Salete Sirlei Valesan Camba, Flacso, Brazil.
  • María Eugenia Rodríguez Palop, European MP, Spain.
  • Shui-Meng NG, Activist against Forced Disappearances and Human Rights Defender, Malaysia
  • Teresa Ulloa, Regional Director of the Regional Coalition Against Trafficking of Women and Girls in Latin American and the Caribbean, México.
  • Clarissa Ramina, CLAJUD, Brazil.
  • Claudia Gonçalves, University of The State of Río de Janeiro, UERJ, Brazil.
  • American Association of Jurists.
  • Civil Association Justicia Legítima, Argentina.
  • Permanent Assembly of Human Rights, APDH, Argentina.
  • Grupo de Puebla.
  • Latin-Americans Council on Justice and Democracy, CLAJUD.
  • David Adler, General Coordinator of Progressive International.
  • The Trade Union of Media Workers, Buenos Aires, SIPREBA, Argentina.
  • The Federation of Media Workers, Buenos Aires, FATPREN, Argentina.
  • Autonomous Workers Union, CTAA, Argentina.
  • Workers Union of Argentina, CTA, Argentina.
  • Florencia Saintout, President of the Cultural Institute of the Buenos Aires Province, Argentina.
  • Raúl Zaffaroni, Former Member of the Supreme Court of Argentina, Argentina.
  • Carlos Raimundi, Ambassador of Argentina before the OAS.
  • Carlos Alfonso Tomada, Ambassador of Argentina in México.
  • Ariel Basteiro, Ambassador of Argentina in the Plurinational State of Bolivia.
  • Rafael Bielsa, Ambassador of Argentina in the Republic of Chile.
  • Luis Ilarregui, Ambassador of Argentina in Cuba.
  • Alicia Castro, Former Ambassador of Argentina in the UK, Argentina.
  • Oscar Parrilli, National Senator, Argentina.
  • Eduardo Valdés, National MP, Argentina.
  • Mónica Macha, National MP, Argentina.
  • Hugo Yasky, National MP and General Secretary of the CTA, Argentina.
  • Hugo Cachorro Godoy, General Secretary of the Autonomous CTA, Argentina.
  • Leopoldo Moreau, National MP, Argentina.
  • Cecilia Nicolini, Secretary Cambio Climático, Desarrollo Sostenible e Innovación, Argentina.
  • Blanca Osuna, National MP, Argentina.
  • Carlos Heller, National MP, Argentina.
  • Juan Manuel Pedrini, National MP, Argentina.
  • Leila Chaher, National MP, Argentina.
  • Rosana Bertone, National MP, Argentina.
  • Mara Brawer, National MP, Argentina.
  • Silvana Ginocchio, National MP, Argentina.
  • Carmela Moreau, General Secretary, Igualar Party, Argentina.
  • Rodolfo Tailhade, National MP, Argentina.
  • Mabel Caparros, National MP, Argentina.
  • Leonardo Grosso, National MP, Argentina.
  • Carolina Moisés, National MP, Argentina.
  • Liliana Mazure, National MP, Argentina.
  • Karol Cariola, MP, Republic of Chile.
  • Martín Sabbatella, President of Nuevo Encuentro.
  • Antolín Magallanes, President of Nuevo Encuentro – CABA.
  • Delia Bisutti, Vice- President of Nuevo Encuentro – CABA.
  • Marita Perceval, Special Representative for Foreign Affairs – Women Issues, Argentina.
  • Cristina Caamaño, Former Intervenor AFI, Argentina.
  • Víctor Hugo Morales, Journalist, Argentina.
  • Santiago O´Donnell, Journalist, Argentina.
  • Cynthia García, Journalist, Argentina.
  • Mariano Duahalde, Founder of the Eduardo Luis Duahalde Foundation, Argentina.
  • María Belén Bertoli, Journalist, Argentina.
  • Ernesto Lucero, Sociologist and Journalist of Patria Grande, Argentina.
  • Oscar “Chino” Martinez Zemborain, Journalist, Argentina.
  • Guido Carlotto, Former Secretary of Human Rights of the Buenos Aires Province, Argentina.
  • Elizabeth Gómez Alcorta, Human Rights Lawyer, Argentina.
  • Luis Alén, Director of the Degree on Justice and Human Rights, Universidad Nacional de Lanus, Argentina.
  • Edgardo Binstock, Former Secretary of Human Rights of the Buenos Aires Province, Argentina.
  • Adela Segarra, Former National MP, Argentina.
  • Cecilia Rossetto, Actress, Argentina.
  • Alejandro Vanelli, Actor and Producer, Argentina.
  • Susana Torres Molina, Playwright, Argentina.
  • Beatriz Spelzini, Actress, Argentina.
  • Jorge Paccini, Actor, Argentina.
  • María Ibarreta, Actress, Argentina.
  • Ernesto Larrese, Actor, Argentina.
  • Cristina Benegas, Actress, Argentina.
  • Mirtha Busnelli, Actress, Argentina.
  • Cristina Tejedor, Actress, Argentina.

    24 March 2023, City of Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Statement issued by the III World Forum on Human Rights 24.03.23Download
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Events Post

Guilty of Journalism – Book Conversation with Kevin Gosztola and Rebecca Vincent

Kevin Gosztola will be in London to speak about his newly published book Guilty of Journalism, a carefully-documented analysis of the government’s case against Julian Assange and its implications for press freedom joined by Rebecca Vincent, the director of operations and campaigns for RSF. Vaughan Smith freelance video journalist and founded the Frontline Club in London will moderate the event.

The legal action against Julian Assange is poised to culminate in a trial in the United States in 2023, and this book will help the public understand the proceedings.

Date and Time
6 April 2023, 19:00pm

Location
The Frontline Club
13 Norfolk Place
London W2 1QJ

Get Tickets Here

Kevin Gosztola accounts for the role of U.S. national security agencies in targeting Julian Assange and WikiLeaks. He describes what is known about the CIA and the FBI’s roles in the prosecution. Through several examples, he shows the extensive lengths that those in the shadow government have gone to instill paranoia and fear among those in Assange’s inner circle, who represent him publicly and legally, and those who campaign for his freedom.

Rebecca Vincent is the Director of Operations and Campaigns for Reporters sans frontières (RSF), which acts globally to defend the freedom, pluralism and independence of journalism. She is an American-British human rights campaigner and former diplomat with more than 17 years of professional experience. She has worked with a wide range of non-governmental organisations and coordinated many high profile international human rights campaigns. Rebecca has lived and worked in London, Paris, Washington, D.C., New York, and Baku, Azerbaijan. She holds an MA in Human Rights from University College London. She is a frequent commentator in the media and has published widely.

Vaughan Smith is a freelance cameraman and founder of Frontline News TV and Frontline Club Charitable Trust in London, Paddington.

You can order Guilty of Journalism here.

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Parliamentary Actions Post Press Clippings

Luxembourg’s Parliament forms cross-party Julian Assange support group

Parliamentarians in Luxembourg created a Free Assange support group calling on the US authorities to drop the charges against the WikiLeaks founder, demanding the immediate release of the journalist.

“It is more than urgent to break the silence around Julian Assange. We demand the immediate release of the whistleblower.“ Oberweis Nathalie

Luxembourg Parliamentary Assange Support GroupDownload
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Post Press Release

a/political, WikiLeaks and the Team Behind Shangri-La Glastonbury Curate an Evening of Art, Music and Change.

“It has never been more important to listen!”
Robin Collings, Founder of Shangri-La Glastonbury

“Music moves people. At its best, it signs, if not cries, out with truth. It can be the engine of change and an indispensable vessel for truth when states fail us.”
Joseph Farrell WikiLeaks ambassador and Chloe Schlosberg, Wau Holland Foundation

Date: 8th April at EARTH, Hackney
SHOW: Bugzy Malone, Eva Lazarus, Lowkey, Ngaio
AFTER PARTY: Dutchie x Who Knew, Fabio & Grooverider, Flowdan (Live), Gardna, My Nu Leng, Sherelle + Special Guests

a/political and WikiLeaks present: BEAT THE SYSTEM on 08 April at EartH Hackney as the closing event for the States of Violence exhibition at a/political. The night brings together artists and musicians to raise awareness around the importance of press freedom and to empower the public to create positive change.

BEAT THE SYSTEM features a back-to-back line up of world renowned acts including Bugzy Malone, Lowkey, Eva Lazarus, and My Nu Leng. Shangri-La’s creative team (wondercloud creations) are creating stage sets and installations for the show in collaboration with ShangrilART and artists from the a/political network.

Taking place just ahead of the four-year anniversary of Julian Assange’s imprisonment in Belmarsh Prison, weeks after the 20 year anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, during a moment of widening inequality and the worst strikes over pay in history in the UK, BEAT THE SYSTEM seeks to turn the spotlight back onto the public, emboldening young people in the pursuit of their artistic and political endeavors. It urges them to understand the realities of the world today and to speak up for their right to live in a society that is fair and just.

The night is in solidarity with artists, musicians, journalists and whistleblowers who are fighting to expose injustice around the world.

Robin Collings, Founder of Shangri-La Glastonbury, says: “Shangri-La exists to reflect the issues of our time, we invite our community to broaden their perspectives, and we promote free expression through music and art. We have always had an incredible and diverse line up and artistic team, all with important voices. It has never been more important to listen!”

a/political spokesperson says, “Music is a tool for change and empowerment. This night will show that politics affects everyone, and we will be encouraging people to actively engage with it.”

“Music moves people. At its best, it sings, if not cries, out with truth. It can be the engine of change and an indispensable vessel for truth when states fail us. That’s why so many brilliant artists, who touch the hearts and lives of millions, support this event. Together we stand for freedom: a world without repression. No more white noise. Sing the truth. London hear our call. Beat the system and Free Assange NOW.” Joseph Farrell WikiLeaks ambassador and Chloe Schlosberg, Wau Holland Foundation.

VENUE

NOTES TO EDITORS
Title: Beat The System
Date: 08 April 2023
Address: EartH Hackney
11-17 Stoke Newington Rd London N16 8BH

Tickets available via Earth website, DICE

TICKETS: https://link.dice.fm/N62138f43d16
Marketing/press kit: https://bit.ly/3ZW2L8w

About a/political

a/political explores radical knowledge through the principle of Cultural Terror. Working with artists and agitators, the collective platforms voices that interrogate the critical issues and dominant narratives of our time. a/political functions through interventions, commissions and a collection of contemporary art. Projects include ORDER with Democracia; Black Flag with Santiago Sierra; The Game and INSURRECTION with Andres Serrano and Alamut with Laibach. Recently initiated, the a/political label uses the same methodology to collaborate on music projects that might be unsuitable for the mainstream industry. a/political is based in London, working closely with The Foundry and FOUNDRY UNIFORM in Maubourguet, Midi-Pyrénées. www.a-political.org / @apoliticalorg on social media.

About WikiLeaks


WikiLeaks is a multinational media organization and associated library. It was founded by its publisher Julian Assange in 2006. WikiLeaks specializes in the analysis and publication of large datasets of censored or otherwise restricted official materials involving war, spying and corruption. It has so far published more than 10 million documents and associated analyses. “WikiLeaks is a giant library of the world’s most persecuted documents. We give asylum to these documents, we analyze them, we promote them and we obtain more.” – Julian Assange, Der Spiegel Interview. WikiLeaks has contractual relationships and secure communications paths to more than 100 major media organizations from around the world. This gives WikiLeaks sources negotiating power, impact and technical protections that would otherwise be difficult or impossible to achieve. Although no organization can hope to have a perfect record forever, thus far WikiLeaks has a perfect record in document authentication and resistance to all censorship attempts.

WikiLeaks ongoing legal cases are best described in this UN report (2015) from the Center for Constitutional Rights
Julian Assange’s ongoing detention without charge is best described here: dontextraditeassange.com/assange-updates/

About the Wau Holland Foundation

The Wau Holland Foundation is an initiative for press freedom. Numerous documentaries and texts on and by data philosopher and visionary Wau Holland show how he influenced the world both as a public figure and the doyen and co-founder of the Chaos Computer Club throughout several decades until his untimely death on July 29, 2001. The area of conflict between new technology and media on the one hand, and ubiquitous surveillance on the other, risks and opportunities in information technology: these were key points Wau covered in his copious talks and public speeches. He developed and refined concepts like hacker ethics and teaching young people about the joy and passion in technology while stressing and showing the society’s role therein. Through founding the Chaos Computer Club in 1981, Wau Holland paved the way for hackers into legality and social responsibility. He continued to be a huge influence and a voice to be heard. It was on the day of Wau’s funeral in Marburg that five of his closest friends set up the Wau Holland Foundation in his memory, supported by his family who also gave the initial funding. In December 2003, the Foundation was registered as a tax-privileged charity.

Categories
Post Press Release

Guidance in relation to finding of 13 Dec 2022 of European Court of Human Rights re application by Assange

Mr Assange’s appeal to the European Court of Human Rights cannot be heard at this time, but comments from the judges confirm an application can be made again to Strasbourg in the future should Mr Assange be dissatisfied with the progress or outcome of his case before the British courts.

A panel of three European Court of Human Rights judges considered Mr Assange’s application. It ruled the application was inadmissible at this time because there are ongoing proceedings in the UK challenging the extradition on other points of law.

The panel further stated, however, that should Mr Assange “be dissatisfied in the future with the progress or outcome of the domestic procedures, it would be open to him to reintroduce his … complaint.”

The panel considered the application on 13 December 2022.

Mr Assange made the application to the European Court in July 2022 in order to comply with the Court’s requirement that applications should be submitted within 4 months of the last domestic decision. The application related to the legal arguments on which Mr Assange had succeeded at first instance in January 2021 when, after a full evidential hearing, a District Judge refused Mr Assange’s extradition and ordered his discharge. She did so on the basis that the extradition would expose Mr Assange, a person suffering from a long-standing and recurrent depressive disorder, and who has autism spectrum disorder, to the virtual certainty of mental deterioration, a high risk of suicide, and the likelihood of detention in conditions of extreme isolation that would be both cruel and inhuman.

The United States appealed the decision of the District Judge to the High Court. For the first time in the proceedings, “assurances” were offered by the United States, some of which purported to address conditions of detention and healthcare in US prisons. The High Court allowed the US appeal against the District Judge’s order for discharge on the basis of these conditional assurances. Amnesty International stated that:

“This is a travesty of justice. By allowing this appeal, the High Court has chosen to accept the deeply flawed diplomatic assurances given by the US that Assange would not be held in solitary confinement in a maximum security
prison. The fact that the US has reserved the right to change its mind at any time means that these assurances are not worth the paper they are written on.”

Although the High Court granted a certificate for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court, recognising that their judgment involved a point of law of public importance, upon application by Mr Assange, the Supreme Court did not allow a full appeal.

Dozens of press freedom organizations have expressed concern about the case. The UK’s National Union of Journalists issued a statement saying that “Seeking to prosecute Julian Assange for cultivating a source and encouraging that source to reveal further wrongdoing is
an attack on the very process of journalism.”

Mr Assange’s application to appeal on eight other grounds, including those related to press freedom, is currently before the High Court.

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Post Press Clippings

Thessaloniki Documentary Festival and Athens Ithaka screening with Stella Assange

8 and 9 March 2023, Greece

The screening of “Ithaca – The battle for the release of Julian Assange” kicked off at the Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival ini crowded room, including the Secretary of MeRA25 Yanis Varoufakis.

Following the screening at the documentary festival Amnesty International awarded the film as the best documentary in the “Human Rights” section, with the aim of highlighting human rights violations, as well as raising awareness of the public and its participation in its work and action for a better world with justice and without discrimination.

“Ithaka: A Fight to Free Julian Assange by Ben Lawrence is an attempt to amplify the voices and stories of Assange’s loved ones who live without the ability to communicate with him, as he is held in the maximum-security prison of Belmarsh by the British authorities.”

The Trianon cinema in Athens was packed for the screening of Ithaka documentary, organized by MeRA25 in collaboration with meta and DiEM25 with the presence of its secretary Yanis Varoufakis and Assange’s partner, Stella Assange.

Yanis addressed the audience stressing that there is no greater fighter for truth, transparency and non-disguise than Julian Assange, who is being pushed to his death every day by the American intelligence services.

Stella pointed out that those who govern use the laws to control society, but in no way intend to respect them themselves. “The mistake Julian made was to believe that the rules and laws apply to everyone.”

With special thanks for organizing – https://metacpc.org/en/

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Post Press Clippings

Stella Assange in Rome and Bologna, Italy

7 March 2023 Rome, Italy

The Faculty of Political Science of the Sapienza University of Rome was packed with students addressed by Stella Assange, MEP Sabrina Pignedoli, Prof. Maria Cristina Marchetti and Prof. Alessandro Guerra.

Chaired by journalist Riccardo Iacona, who hosts the popular TV series Presa Diretta, emphasized how much the Assange case “touches us all, touches the core of European values”. Julian’s extradition would be “a setback for our democracy; indeed, it would call it into question.”

Stella pointed out to the political science students, “this detention, now lasting four years, is completely arbitrary, as were arbitrary the previous seven years of forced confinement in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London – and this is not my opinion, but the opinion of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.”

Read the whole article here.

The second meeting in the Parliamentary Groups Hall was packed to hear Stella explain how Julian’s relentless judicial persecution is, in fact, “an attack on freedom of the press.“

“Is a political case, not a legal one; the solution therefore must be political. The UK has got Julian; the US wants to get him; between the two, Europe must intervene to say enough is enough and to save him. Each of you opinion makers can contribute to his release by making your voices heard… now.”

Promoted by the European Parliamentarian Sabrina Pignedoli with the collaboration of the Italian Parliamentarian Stefania Ascari it brought together, alongside Stella, the President of the National Order of Journalists, Carlo Bartoli, the popular journalist and former Parliamentarian Alessandro Di Battista, and Maddalena Oliva, deputy editor of the widely-read daily Il Fatto Quotidiano.

Read the whole article here.

Later on Stella Assange attended an event in Sala Borsa in Bologna on freedom of information alongside Sabrina Pignedoli, Steania Ascari moderated by journalist Luca Ponzi.

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Post Press Clippings

Darkness into light: Night Carnival for Assange

The latest expression of support for Assange was the 2,000 strong Night Carnival protest in London. The carnival was led by Lady Justice followed by artists and campaigners dressed in costumes carrying lanterns, placards, flags including samba bands marching along the crowd.

Symbolically it began at Lincoln’s Inn Field. Famously, this is the place where Charles Dickens novel Bleak House pictured the legal fog which kept cases going for years being at its thickest and most lethal.

The carnival aimed to shine a lot through this fog and illuminate Julian Assange’s case. Its slogan was ‘Light into Darkness’, using the age-old subversive nature of carnival to shine a light on this very dark corner of the political and legal system.

The carnival concluded with an indoor rally at the Emanuel Centre with various speakers supporting Assange. Ben Westwood, son of legendary fashion designer Vivienne Westwood, opened the rally expressing the importance of facts for a functioning democracy with words “The world needs Julian.” Ben brought a scarf made by Vivienne Westwood, the text bulletpoints the violations and injustices against Julian.

Jeremy Corbyn spoke second at the rally explaining the work and importance of campaigning for Assange: “Julian spoke out for the innocent victims all around the world of unaccountable military power”

“It’s a reminder that in the midst of all that cruelty, there is a world of kindness that does believe in justice” We heard an incredibly moving story from Richard Ratcliffe, husband of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was reunited with her family after six years in detention in Iranian jail.

Kristinn Hrafnsson was one of the many speakers at The Emmanuel Centre where people rallied together in defence of the freedom of Julian Assange.

“So much for this to just be a legal case. It’s a political persecution! You have it in black and white. You have it admitted by the former Secretary of State”

Kristinn Hrafnsson

Julian Assange’s wife Stella Assange ended the rally speaking about the unjust imprisonment and incarceration of her husband.

“Julian’s imprisonment is an attempt to punish the messenger for uncomfortable truths”

Stella Assange

In other news, Andrew Cockburn has written a feature piece ‘Alternative Facts’ stating how the media ignored or misrepresented “key information about Julian Assange’s plight”.

You can read the whole article in Harpers: https://harpers.org/archive/2023/03/alternative-facts-how-the-media-failed-julian-assange/

The Belmarsh Tribunal will convene in Sydney, Australia on 4 March with range of expert witnesses – from constitutional lawyers, to acclaimed journalists, parliamentarians and human rights defenders. The Sydney chapter of the Tribunal will add a uniquely Australian voice to the global demand to free Julian Assange.

Some of appearing will include Stella Assange, John Kiriakou, Jennifer Robinson, Yanis Varoufakis, Kylie Moore-Gilbert, Mary Kostakidis and many more hosted by the Progressive International.

To find out more follow this link: https://act.progressive.international/belmarsh-tribunal-sydney/

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Post Press Release

Press Release: Night Carnival For Julian Assange

In just a few days the Night Carnival for Julian Assange will be coming to central London. It will meet at Lincoln’s Inn Fields (nearest tube Holborn) at 4pm on Saturday 11 February and marching Parliament Square and then to a rally in the Emmanuel Centre just around the corner from Parliament.

The carnival will be led by a giant puppet of Lady Justice, and will feature street performers, sound systems and bands.

Attendees are being encouraged to come in their own costumes and to bring torches, lanterns, glow lights, masks, whistles, glow lights and face paint.

It’s going to be a political protest like no other.

Speakers at the end rally include Stella Assange, Ben Westwood, Richard Ratcliffe, Jeremy Corbyn, and the editor in chief of WikiLeaks, Kristinn Hrafnsson.

You can find the details here:  https://dontextraditeassange.com/events/night-carnival-for-assange/

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Post Press Clippings

Assange Odysseia, 23 January 2023, Strasbourg, France

Théâtre National de Strasbourg and the TJP – Centre Dramatique National de Strasbourg Grand-Est brought together the Assange Odysseia, created by Sahra Datoussaid and Sarah Siré.

Inspired by the narrative form of Homer’s Odyssey, Assange Odysseia tells the story of Julian Assange and WikiLeaks and, with the help of witnesses, experts as well as political and cultural figures, sheds light on facts and events that are little known by the general public.

“It is a challenge to go beyond the strictly political and/or legal framework in order to do artistic work which is, moreover, in phase with current events. The difficulty is to deal with a situation that is taking place in the present time and whose political and judicial outcome is not yet known. Creating a Forum for Theatre seemed to us the most obvious
solution.”

Through this forum the play reconstructs the last twelve years’ journey: from the journalistic and political project of WikiLeaks with Collateral Murder to the judicial persecution of its editor Julian Assange, via the denunciation of the psychological torture of Assange by the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Nils Melzer, to the observation of amalaise in our democracies.

“At the crossroads of documentary theatre and the Court of Opinion, our Forum attempts to open a public debate through a device where witnesses and experts are invited to share their expertise and testimony with the public, who are invited to actively participate in the process of rigorous investigation”

The performer of the play: Stella Assange, wife of Julian Assange, Françoise Tulkens, judge at the European Court of Human Rights from 1998 to 2012, Rafael Correa, president of Ecuador from 2007 to 2017, Denis Robert, Laurent Dauré and Stefania Maurizi, investigative journalists, Jennifer Robinson and Baltasar Garzon, lawyers for Julian Assange and WikiLeaks, Geoffroy de Lagasnerie, philosopher and sociologist, Mohamedou Ould Slahi, author of The Guantanamo Diaries, lawyers Julien Pieret, Annemie Schaus and Diane Bernard, philosopher of law.

Watch in English
Watch in French
Assange Odysseia Press KitDownload
Categories
Events Post

Ithaka – Special Parliamentary Screening

Richard Burgon MP is hosting a special parliamentary screening of Ithaka, an award-winning new documentary on the fight to free Julian Assange.

There will be a follow up discussion with Julian’s wife Stella Assange.

When: 31 January, 7pm

Where: London Wilson Room, Portcullis House, House of Commons

Contact your MP to attend the screening and understand what is at stake in Julian Assange’s case. Ask your local representatives to take concerted action to defend the free press and Julian’s human rights, educate your neighbours, friends and coworkers, and join the world wide campaign in Julian’s defense.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has led a coalition of 16 organisations in urging the new UK Home Secretary to intervene in the US government’s request to extradite Wikileaks publisher Julian Assange.

You can do the same by emailing the Home Secretary Suella Braverman and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to Stop the Extradition of Julian Assange.

The International Federation of Journalists calls on all media unions, press freedom organisations and journalists to urge governments to actively work to secure Assange’s release.

Fill in a model letter created by IFJ and send it to US embassy in your country calling for the immediate release of Julian Assange. Encourage your members to do the same; the more, the better! #FreeAssangeNOW

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Post Press Clippings

Sakharov award ceremony at the European Parliament

Julian Assange’s wife Stella was speaking at the European Parliament Press Seminar on the Sakharov Prize on Tuesday 14 December for which the publisher was nominated as a finalist.

Julian Assange was selected as one of three finalists for the prestigious Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, awarded each year by the European Union Parliament. More than 40 MEPs nominated Julian Assange for this year’s Sakharov Prize long list. Julian Assange’s wife Stella Assange addressed a meeting in Brussels on Tuesday, October 11th, in which she made the case for Julian Assange winning the award.

MEP Sabrina Pignedoli and the 5 Star Movement officially presented the candidacy in the first phase of the selection for the Sakharov Prize, the highest recognition awarded by the Eurochamber to those who stand out in the battle for respect for human rights.

The President of the International Federation of Journalists and other MEPs have called on the President of the EU Parliament to work to ensure that Julian Assange can attend the Sakharov Prize ceremony as a nominee.

However Belmarsh prison authorities have refused permission for Assange to participate via video link in meetings and press conferences during the plenary of the European Parliament. Julian Assange’s wife, Stella, attended the European Union’s Sakharov Prize ceremony on his behalf, following an invitation by European Parliament President Roberta Metsola.

Members of the European Parliament and press freedom groups co-signed an open letter to the US President Joe Biden asking him to pardon Julian Assange.

“For over a decade, Julian Assange and WikiLeaks have been at the forefront of investigative journalism, publishing information that has revealed significant abuses of power and corruption at the highest levels of powerful institutions. In doing so, he has been part of the institution of a free press essential to any democracy.”

Press Conference With Stella Assange, Julian Assange’s Wife on 13 December the European Parliament in Strasbourg

The 5 Star delegation’s press conference “The Julian Assange case: Publishing is not a crime” took place on Tuesday December 13 at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, Daphne Caruana Galizia room.

Joint press conference by:

Moderated by Davide D’Antoni, 5 Star press officer

Tiziana Beghin, head of the 5 Star delegation in the EP
Sabrina Pignedoli, 5 Star MEP, promotor of Assange’s candidature at the Sakharov Prize.
Virginie Lemarié, Julian Assange’s lawyer
Stella Assange, Julian Assange’s wife

Categories
Post Press Release

WikiLeaks delegation meets Bolivian President Luis Arce to discuss ongoing prosecution of Julian Assange/ President calls for release of Assange

Bolivia President, Luis [Lucho] Arce, received WikiLeaks Editor-in-Chief Kristinn Hrafnsson and Joseph Farrell, WikiLeaks Ambassador, in the capital La Paz on Saturday at the Casa Grande del Pueblo (17 December 2022) to discuss the case of WikiLeaks’ publisher Julian Assange who has been detained for his publications which exposed evidence of government crime, corruption and brazen human rights violations and faces 175 years in prison for exposing these acts in the public interest.

In a private meeting with the president and the Minister of the Presidency, Maria Nela Prada, President Arce spoke frankly of the threat to press freedom and the necessity to uphold human rights and the right to know. The president was firm in his support of Julian Assange and the desire to see him a free man.

This follows previous meetings over the last month with President-elect Lula of Brazil, Argentina’s President Alberto Fernández and President Gustavo Petro of Colombia all of whom declared their support for the WikiLeaks publisher and called on authorities to cease their prosecution for the simple act of journalism.

Last week, almost two dozen Human Rights and Free Press groups urged the end of Julian Assange’s prosecution, noting that ‘The U.S. prosecution of Assange undermines the country’s ability to defend journalists against repression by authoritarian and other rights-abusing regimes abroad’

https://cpj.org/2022/12/cpj-partners-send-letter-calling-for-us-to-drop-charges-against-julian-assange/

Last month, the editors and publishers of The New York Times, The Guardian, Le Monde, El País and Der Spiegel – the five media partners who first partnered with Assange – called for his immediate release 

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2022/nov/28/media-groups-urge-us-drop-julian-assange-charges

Last week Julian Assange’s wife, Stella Assange, attended the European Parliaments Sakharov Prize ceremony, which the publisher was nominated as a finalist. Speaking before the event at a Press Seminar for the prestigious prize Stella Assange urged an end to the persecution of her husband saying ‘Julian is suffering profoundly…our children need their father and this injustice must end’

All major Human Rights, Media, Free Speech & Civil Liberties organizations oppose the extradition attempts against the WikiLeaks publisher who faces a 175 year sentence if extradited to the US for his publishing work

Amnesty International: “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 human rights law”

Categories
Parliamentary Actions Post

45 MEPs and journalist federations sign open letter to US President Biden

Strasbourg 15/12/2022 – Members of the European Parliament address US President Joe Biden in an open letter co-signed by 41 EU lawmakers, NGOs, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and many more, asking him to pardon Julian Assange.

MEP Mikuláš Peksa, Stella Assange, MEP Markéta Gregorová & MEP Marcel Kolaja

For over a decade, Julian Assange and WikiLeaks have been at the forefront of investigative journalism, publishing information that has revealed significant abuses of power and corruption at the highest levels of powerful institutions. The charges against him raise serious concerns about the extent to which a democratic government can criminalize the publication of truthful information.

Among the signatories are the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), the worldwide association of writers PEN International and many of their national sub-organizations, and several human rights NGOs, such as Big Brother Watch or Statewatch.

This week, Julian Assange’s wife Stella represents her husband, a nominee for the Sakharov Prize 2022 for Freedom of Thought, at the European Parliament in Strasbourg. Together with her and all undersigned, the European Pirates respectfully call on US President Joe Biden to pardon Julian Assange.

Letter to the President of the United States of America to pardon Julian AssangeDownload

The article was originally published here.

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Post Press Clippings

The Brazilian Senate Human Rights Commission receives Wikileaks and holds hearing on Freedom of Press, Opinion and Right to Information

The Commission on Human Rights and Participative Legislation (CDH) of the Federal Senate of Brazil has held an interactive public hearing to shed light at the numerous cases of attacks and threats to the work of journalists in Brazil and around the world, including the Julian Assange case. The hearing was held at the initiative of Senator Humberto Costa (PT-PE), who presided over the Panel. It was convened as a part of Wikileaks Latin American tour. Wikileaks representatives Kristinn Hrafnsson and Joseph Farrell previously met with Presidents of Colombia, Brazil and Argentina, as well as with numerous legislators, policy makers and representatives of media freedom organizations.

“It is ironic that the accusers are precisely the ones who were unmasked,” said Carol Proner, a professor of international law at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). Assange’s case itself brings to light the “crimes committed” by US security forces, said the lawyer during the hearing.

The editor-in-chief of WikiLeaks, Kristinn Hrafnsson highlighted that the possible extradition of Assange “will send a signal that any journalist who ventures to expose the secrets of the powerful will be punished”.

The Commission has deliberated that it will produce a note to be sent to the US, UK and Australian Embassies and form a delegation to go to Washington. It also mentioned that the Brazilian President-elect Lula da Silva has endorsed WikiLeaks and stated that defending the freedom of Julian Assange will be part of government policy.

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Post Press Release

Belmarsh prison refuses permission for Julian Assange to participate in European Parliament’s Sakharov Prize award

PRESS RELEASE

Belmarsh prison authorities have refused permission for Julian Assange to participate via video link in meetings and press conferences taking place this week during the plenary of the European Parliament.

The events have been arranged by EU politicians from across the political spectrum to discuss his imprisonment and prosecution, following his selection as a finalist in this year’s Sakharov Prize, the European Union’s premier human rights/freedom of thought award, which goes to an individual or group who has dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights.

Julian Assange’s wife, Stella, will be attending the European Union’s Sakharov Prize ceremony on his behalf, following an invitation by European Parliament President Roberta Metsola.

Julian Assange remains in custody at the UK’s maximum security Belmarsh prison in South London where he has been held since his arrest on April 11th, 2019. He is charged in the United States in relation to WikiLeaks’ publication of information about wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and torture and rendition programs in 2010. He faces a 175-year sentence.

Belmarsh prison’s governor declined written requests from EU parliamentarians and political groups requesting Mr. Assange’s presence over video link. The governor wrote that, “having sought policy advice on the matter”, the requests for Mr. Assange’s participation had been rejected because the European Parliament and its Parliamentarians do “not fall under the list of official visitors”.

More than 40 MEPs nominated Julian Assange for this year’s Sakharov Prize, which was awarded for the first time in 1988 to Nelson Mandela and Anatoli Marchenko. Last year’s prize was awarded to Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Stella Assange said: “Julian’s nomination is testament to the support he has from human rights groups around the world as well as the recognition of his life’s work for peace and justice”.

Stella Assange will take part in the European Parliament plenary session’s meetings and press engagements in connection with the Sakharov Prize of 2022. She will take part in a press seminar on Tuesday 13th December Strasbourg 9.30am CET, and a further press conference at 17:00 CET, and is expected to deliver a message on behalf of Julian Assange.

At 9.30 CET on Tuesday 13th December Mrs Assange will appear on a panel alongside Vice-President of the European Parliament, Heidi Hautalaa; and Francisco de Roux, who represents The Truth Commission in Colombia, also a finalist of this year’s Sakharov prize, The moderator is Raffaella De Marte, Head of the Media Services Unit in the European Parliament’s Directorate for Communication.

Web-Stream: https://multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/en/webstreaming/press-seminar-on-sakharov-prize-for-freedom-of-thought_20221213-0930-SPECIAL-SEMINAR

There are currently 127 journalists from European media registered to attend – others are able to follow and ask questions remotely via the web-stream beginning at 9.30am CET

Last week, almost two dozen Human Rights and Free Press groups urged the end of Julian Assange’s prosecution, noting that ‘The U.S. prosecution of Assange undermines the country’s ability to defend journalists against repression by authoritarian and other rights-abusing regimes abroad’

Last month, the editors and publishers of Le Monde, El País, Der Spiegel, The New York Times and The Guardian called for his immediate release https://www.theguardian.com/media/2022/nov/28/media-groups-urge-us-drop-julian-assange-charges

All major Human Rights, Media, Free Speech & Civil Liberties organizations oppose the extradition attempts against the WikiLeaks publisher who faces a 175year sentence if extradited to the US for his publishing work.

Categories
Events Post Press Release

SAVE THE DATE: Press Conference With Stella Assange at the European Parliament in Strasbourg

PRESS RELEASE

The 5 Star delegation is pleased to invite you to the press conference “The Julian Assange case: Publishing is not a crime” that will take place on Tuesday December 13, from 17h00 to 17h30 at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, Daphne Caruana Galizia room – Weiss N-1/201.

Julian Assange is a finalist for the Sakharov Prize 2022, the European Union’s highest award in the field of human rights and freedom of thought. The WikiLeaks publisher partnered with world-leading newspapers to publish documents that evidenced war crimes, arbitrary detention, torture and judicial interference leaked by US private Chelsea Manning. Julian Assange remains imprisoned in the UK’s notorious Belmarsh high security prison while he fights United States extradition and a sentence of 175 years in prison. It was recently reported that he has lodged an application before the European Court of Human Rights.

Joint press conference by:

Tiziana Beghin, head of the 5 Star delegation in the EP
Sabrina Pignedoli, 5 Star MEP, promotor of Assange’s candidature at the Sakharov Prize
Antoine Vey, Julian Assange’s lawyer
Stella Assange, Julian Assange’s wife
The conference will be held in EN – IT with FR and ES live interpretation. 

Journalists not present in Strasbourg can connect and ask questions thanks to this link: https://ep.interactio.eu/66e2-hy1p-1w4u

Categories
Post Press Clippings

Wikileaks representatives meet with the President of Argentina

After the meetings with President of Colombia Gustavo Petro and President-elect of Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Wikileaks Editor-In-Chief, Kristinn Hrafnsson, and Joseph Farrell, WikiLeaks Ambassador were received by President of Argentina Alberto Fernández.

They discussed Julian Assange’s plight and the ongoing extradition battle. After the meeting Hrafnsson stated that “the President told us that he would support our mission”, adding that “it is extremely positive to receive such a clear signal of support from the country’s highest authority”.

Hrafnsson stressed that “it is not just about a man or a life, it is about a much greater interest: it is the freedom of the press in the world that is at stake” and concluded by saying: “That is the position of the main human rights organizations in the world that have taken an interest in the case and for this reason the leaders have joined so strongly”.

Hrafnsson and Farrell also met with the Vice President of Argentina, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. “In these meetings we have seen absolute support,” Hrafnsson said, adding that “this is revenge against an individual, an award-winning journalist, for exposing the dark secrets of the empire.”

Categories
Post Press Release

Elon Musk twitter poll: Should Assange and Snowden be pardoned?

PRESS RELEASE

Twitter CEO Elon Musk has launched a poll on twitter asking whether Assange and Snowden should be pardoned. Thus far, over 80 percent of users have voted in favour, The poll closes in approximately 9 hours from this e-mail.

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1599224347121500160

The poll comes after the editors and publishers of 5 media organisations who partnered with WikiLeaks – The Guardian, Le Monde, El País, Der Spiegel and New York Times – called US to drop Julian Assange charges.

“This indictment sets a dangerous precedent, and threatens to undermine America’s First Amendment and the freedom of the press. Holding governments accountable is part of the core mission of a free press in a democracy. Twelve years after the publication of Cablegate, it is time for the US government to end its prosecution of Julian Assange for publishing secrets” the letter says.

On Wednesday Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has also issued a major statement from the Australian Parliament: “Enough is enough. It is time for this matter to be brought to a conclusion.”

Parliamentarians from the Brazil approved a resolution urging American authorities to drop the charges against Julian Assange.

In a letter sent to the President of the United States, Joe Biden, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, the parliamentarians are against the extradition of Assange to be tried in North American territory and warn that this fact would create a negative precedent for freedom of expression and the free exercise of the press throughout the world.

Categories
Parliamentary Actions Post

Brazilian cross-party Parliamentarians approve resolution urging American authorities to drop the charges against Julian Assange

Parliamentarians from the Brazil of Hope Federation (PT, PCdoB and PV) announced this Tuesday (29 November 2022) support for the international movement for the release of Australian journalist Julian Assange.

In a letter sent to the President of the United States, Joe Biden, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, the parliamentarians are against the extradition of Assange to be tried in North American territory and warn that this fact would create a negative precedent for freedom of expression and the free exercise of the press throughout the world.

The support took place at a meeting of the Federation’s benches, in the Chamber of Deputies, which was attended by the editor-in-chief of WikiLeaks, Kristinn Hraffsson, and Joseph Farrell, ambassador of WikiLeaks.

In the letter, the parliamentarians reminded the US authorities that Assange “adopted practices that are essentially investigative journalism”, among them, “receiving classified information from a source within the government and publishing information of public interest”. Still according to Brazilian congressmen, this act cannot be included in the Espionage Act, because “it would criminalize routine practices, which are protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States”. Deputies also recalled that the Obama administration refused to prosecute Assange for espionage.

Letter from Brazilian ParliamentariansDownload
Carta Parlamentares BrasileirosDownload

Article originally published here.

Categories
Post Press Release

WikiLeaks Editor-in-Chief meets Brazilian president Lula da Silva

PRESS RELEASE

Brazilian President Elect, Luís Inácio Lula da Silva, welcomed Kristinn Hrafnsson, WikiLeaks Editor-in-Chief, and Joseph Farrell, WikiLeaks Ambassador, in a private meeting in the capital Brasilia yesterday (28 November 2022) to discuss the condition of Julian Assange’s detention for his WikiLeaks publications which exposed evidence of government crime, corruption at the highest level and flagrant war crimes.

Lula, a former political prisoner himself, has long been outspoken about the illegality of Julian Assange’s prison and extradition attempt by the United States of America. At the meeting President Lula reiterated his ongoing support for Julian Assange and his wish to see him freed.

Today in Brasilia, the WikiLeaks delegation will be hosted at the Parliament by Humberto Costa, the President of the Human Rights Commission of the Senate, and will speak at a plenary session of the lower chamber with Parliamentarians to agree on a series of actions to be taken at a bi-lateral political level, starting with parliamentarians lodging a letter at the U.S. Embassy in Brasilia, urging the American authorities to drop the charges against Julian Assange;

The WikiLeaks delegation also met with Marina Silva, Brazilian politician and environmentalist, who expressed her full support for Assange’s release: She was quoted saying “we cannot save the world from a climate disaster without transparency”.

The delegation will travel on Wednesday to Rio de Janeiro where they will hold a public meeting at the Brasilian Press Association in the presence of various press and media association.

The Brazilian segment of the WikiLekas Latin American Tour will end with a reception hosted at the home of the world-renowned singer Caetano Veloso.

END

Categories
Post Press Clippings

Julian Assange receives the Almudena Grandes Award for freedom of expression

The Almudena Grandes Award for freedom of expression was collected by the imprisoned journalist’s wife, Stella Assange, and was delivered by the director of El País, Pepa Bueno. “Julian is a political prisoner. The right to truth is a fundamental right. The United States has turned journalism into a criminal activity,” she stressed about Washington’s obsession with extraditing her husband to stand trial there. She celebrated, in any case, that Julian Assange is “surrounded by friends who do not stop fighting for him until he is free.”

Poet Luis García Montero, director of the Cervantes Institute and columnist for infoLibre, spoke on a large screen that dominated the stage. “We live in a world in which it is increasingly essential to defend the independence of journalism. We cannot commit ourselves to being in possession of the truth, but we can commit ourselves not to lie,” concluded and thanked the Almudena Grandes Award for the defense of the right to information, awarded to Julian Assange.

The infoLibre Awards celebrate the pride of journalism without fear in the face of noise and uncertainty.

“You cannot send anyone to a country that has planned their assassination” – Álvaro Sánchez’s interview with Stella Assange. Read it here.

Categories
Events Post

IMPRISONED NOT SILENCED:
an evening of solidarity with writers at risk

2 December 2022 – 7.00 to 8.30 PM

13 Norfolk Place, London, W2 1QJ

The Frontline Club, PEN International, and English PEN are delighted to invite you to an evening of reflection on how literature, journalism, and other forms of writing are both the target of censorship and a powerful tool for advocating for freedom of expression, and how global communities can maintain solidarity with those facing persecution.

ABOUT THE EVENT

A panel of writers and activists will discuss the cases of editor, publisher and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange; Belarusian pro-democracy activist, writer and 2022 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Ales Bialiatski; British-Egyptian blogger and activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah; and the case of the 12 Eritrean journalists, writers, poets, and government critics detained without trial and held incommunicado since 2001. They will also explore the importance of solidarity and the ways in which people can offer meaningful practical and moral support to writers at risk.

With the generous participation of writer, editor, and journalist, Deepa Anappara, lawyer and human rights defender Stella Assange, writer and PEN Eritrea director Awet Fissehaye,writer, translator, and activist Hanna Komar and writer and activist Ahdaf Soueif. The evening will be moderated by PEN International board member and writer Salil Tripathi and will close with readings of solidarity letters written by Siri Hustvedt and Ahdaf Soueif to imprisoned Iranian writer Narges Mohammadi, and a performance by Uyghur musician and activist Rahima Mahmut. This will be followed by a drinks reception in the Frontline Club bar.

  • Lawyer, human rights defender and campaigner Stella Assange will talk about the case of her imprisoned husband, editor, publisher and Wikealeaks founder Julian Assange
  • Hanna Komar- Belarusian poet, translator, and member of PEN Belarus (formerly imprisoned) will talk about her own experience of imprisonment, the situation in Belarus and the case of Ales Bialiatski, Belarusian pro-democracy activist, writer, prisoner of
  • Eritrean poet, writer and lyricist Awet Fissehaye will talk about freedom of expression in Eritrea and the case of the 12 Eritrean journalists, writers, poets, and government critics detained without trial and held incommunicado for 21 years.
  • Egyptian writer and activist Ahdaf Soueif (OR Sanaa OR Mona Seif- participation TBC yet) will talk aboutthe case ofBritish-Egyptian blogger and activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah 

8.00- 8.20 pm: readings of solidarity letters to imprisoned Iranian writer Narges Mohammadi

  • Author and journalist, Deepa Anappara to read a letter of solidarity written by acclaimed writer Siri Hustvedt to Narges Mohammadi
  • Egyptian writer and activist Ahdaf Soueif to read her own solidarity letter to Narges Mohammadi

8:20 – 8:30pm: MUSIC TO CLOSE THE EVENT

  • Musician, activist and World Uyghur Congress UK Director Rahima Mahmut to sing a few of her songs

8:30pm onwards: DRINKS AND SOCIAL AT THE FRONTLINE CLUB BAR

reserve your ticket
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Events Post

Night Carnival for Assange

After a successful #FreeAssange #HumanChain event last October we are going to take the streets of London for a Night Carnival in cooperation with the Wau Holland Foundation. Bring torches, lanterns, masks, drums, pots and pans!

Date and time

Saturday, February 11, 2023, 4:00 PM GMT

Assemble

Lincoln’s Inn Fields, WC2A 3LJ London, United Kingdom

Emmanuel Centre rally

At the end of the Night Carnival for Assange on Saturday 11 February there will be a rally in the Emmanuel Centre, Marsham Street, Westminster, SW1P 3DW. Speakers will include Stella Assange, Ben Westwood, Kristinn Hrafnsson, Richard Ratcliffe and Jeremy Corbyn..

Date and time

Saturday, February 11, 2023, 6:00 PM GMT

Location

Emmanuel Centre, 9-23 Marsham Street London SW1P 3DW United Kingdom

Get your tickets here

The pressure on the UK Government to free Julian Assange is very high. Help us reach our goal as we ramp up campaigning efforts to #FreeAssangeNOW with Night Carnival.

Donate

Birmingham STWC is organising a coach to London for the 11 February. Contact details below for tickets and availability.

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Post Press Release

WikiLeaks Editor-in-Chief meets Colombian president Gustavo Petro, who promised to press for the freedom of Julian Assange

PRESS RELEASE

WikiLeaks’ Editor-in-Chief Kristinn Hrafnsson and Joseph Farrell, WikiLeaks Ambassador, were received today in a one-hour private meeting with the Colombian President, Gustavo Petro and the Foreign Minister Alvaro Duran at the Presidential Palace of Nariño in Bogotá, Colombia

Kristinn Hrafnsson was quoted saying : “ I am extremely content with the outcome of the meeting with President Petro and the Foreign Minister Durán. They’ve shown their commitment and support for Julian Assange’s freedom, and strongly recognised the implications for press freedom worldwide that Assange’s extradition would set. In our meeting they pledged to assist in getting other leaders in the region to follow Colombia’s position and to collectively and individually urge the Biden administration to drop the charges brought by the Trump administration and grant Assange his long overdue freedom.”

WikiLeaks highlighted in the meeting with the President that the extradition treaty between the USA and UK bars extraditions for so-called political acts, under which Assange is charged.

The non-extradition of Julian Assange would simply mean that the USA is abiding by its own laws and longstanding international treaties.

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Parliamentary Actions Post

Letter to allow Julian Assange to attend Sakharov Prize

The President of the International Federation of Journalists and other MEPs have called on the President of the EU Parliament to work to ensure that Julian Assange can attend the Sakharov Prize ceremony as a nominee.

The letter has been sent after Julian Assange was selected as one of three finalists for the European Parliaments Sakharov Prize 2022 along with the people of Ukraine and Columbia’s Truth Commission.

“As one of the co-founders of the WikiLeaks association, Assange provided world-leading newspapers with documents concerning war crimes, arbitrary detentions, human rights violations and torture. He has been held in prison in the UK and is currently facing extradition to the United States to stand trial on charges of espionage and computer misuse.”

Sakharov Prize 2022: the finalists, European Parliament News

More than 40 MEPs nominated Julian Assange for this year’s Sakharov Prize long list. Julian Assange’s wife Stella Assange addressed a meeting in Brussels on Tuesday, October 11th, in which she made the case for Julian Assange winning the award.

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Post Press Clippings

Lugano’s Plan B:The Attack on Julian Assange is an Attack on Freedom of Speech

Lugano’s Plan ₿ Forum is the premier Bitcoin conference hosted by Tether Operations Limited and the City of Lugano in Switzerland.

The Forum featured blockchain industry leaders along with influential experts in global financial markets and the Bitcoin ecosystem at the Palazzo dei Congressi in Lugano on October 28th and 29th 2022

The list of speakers to discuss how Bitcoin is disrupting the world on both social and economic levels as well as the important topic of individual freedoms was also joined by Stella Assange, lawyer and wife of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange; Gabriel Shipton, film producer and brother of Julian Assange and John Shipton, father of Julian.

They participated in a fireside chat with journalist and podcast host Peter McCormack, a leading voice in the Bitcoin community, and share their experiences advocating for free speech.

The Attack on Julian Assange is an Attack on Freedom of Speech

In addition, participants could look forward to a unique virtual reality experience following the footsteps of Julian Assange and an opportunity to reflect on freedom of speech. Participants could virtually navigate the places where Assange has lived for the past 10 years: from Ecuador’s embassy in the United Kingdom, to the Belmarsh maximum security prison in London where Assange is currently detained.

Thanks to the Assange family, the attendees of the conference could also watch the documentary film that Shipton produced. Titled Ithaka, an intimate portrait of the struggle of Julian’s father, John, to free his son.

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Post Press Clippings

Julian Assange receives Weizenbaum Award for Peace and Social Responsibility

22 October 2022 Berlin, Germany

Julian Assange received this year’s Weizenbaum Prize for Peace and Social Responsibility for his work as an “outstanding journalist”, for his “creative use of technology” and for his merits and courage. His wife, Stella Assange, accepted the award on Saturday, October 22 on his behalf.

The prize is named after Joseph Weizenbaum. The influential computer scientist and peace activist, who would have turned 100 next year, publicly refused to work on the development of electronic elements for weapon systems during the Vietnam War.

The award ceremony took place as part of this year’s FIfF (Forum Computer Scientists for Peace and Social Responsibility) conference FIfFKon22, which has a technical and a political focus: “Our goal is nothing less than world peace,” says the announcement of the event.

Stella Assange accepting the Weizenbaum Prize for Peace and Social Responsibility

Julian Assange receives the Order of Italian Journalists Card

28 October 2022 Turin, Italy

The journalist’s card was delivered by President Carlo Bartoli of the Order of Italian Journalists accepted by Julian Assange’s father John Shipton. The ceremony took place in Turin as part of the Morrione Prize in Italy.

“Assange has carried out a work in defense of journalism, suffering a very serious attack on the right of the press and it is clear that the stakes are between knowing and not knowing and the dividing line is between democracy and dictatorship.”

“These are the battles that we have a duty to fight, to leave our children and grandchildren a democratic system to which we must never abdicate,” Carlo Bartoli.

Among the speakers of the debate, coordinated by Vincenzo Vita, were Stefania Maurizi journalist and writer, Gian Giacomo Migone professor and former president of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee and John Shipton, father of Julian Assange.

“I am particularly happy – said Bartoli – to be able to hand over the card to Julian Assange’s father in the name of the entire National Council of the Order and of the colleagues who are members of it, who, if he wishes, can use it to prove that he has completed “Acts” of journalism.

Some of the more than 80 videos of testimony for the freedom of the founder of WikiLeaks collected by the “My voice for Assange” Committee, coordinated by the Sapienza professor Grazia Tuzi were screened. “Articolo21” will continue the campaign with incessant determination.

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Post Press Clippings

A conversation with Stella Moris, Julian Assange’s wife

Skram, Litteraturhuset in Oslo, 25 November 2022

Musical performance by Lars Klevstand.

In the panel:

– Thorbjørn Jagland, Secretary General of the Council of Europe (2009-2019), former prime minister of Norway, former minister of foreign affairs.

– Sofie Marhaug, member of the Norwegian Parliament (MP), initiator of the support group for Julian Assange in the Parliament.

– Gisle Selnes, professor of Literature (Bergen, UiB), co-author of the book “The Persecution of Julian Assange” (2022).

The event and the panel will be moderated by Rune Ottosen, professor of journalism, journalist and head of the Assange-committee of Norwegian PEN.

The event is hosted by Agnete G. Haaland, who is vice-president of Norwegian PEN.

Originally published in Norsk PEN.

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Post Press Release

Julian Assange One of Three Finalists for the Sakharov Prize 2022

13 October 2022, 12:40 BST

Today Julian Assange has been selected as one of three finalists for the prestigious Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, awarded each year by the European Union Parliament. The Sakharov Prize is an honorary prize awarded to an individual or group who has dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights. The winner will be announced on October 19th. Julian Assange’s wife Stella Assange will address the EU parliamentary plenary next week ahead of the final decision.

https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20221010IPR42638/sakharov-prize-2022-finalists-chosen

Julian Assange’s wife Stella Assange said: “Julian has been imprisoned for almost four years in Britain’s harshest prison for his important work to end impunity for war crimes and bring about greater accountability by informing the public about the human cost of war. He faces 175 years if he is extradited for his publishing work. Julian’s work embodies the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and he is paying for it with his freedom. This cannot be allowed to continue or he will pay with his life. Upholding the Charter means taking a stand for Julian’s freedom. I am profoundly grateful to all the MEPs who have put Julian’s name forward and especially Sabrina Pignedoli who has spearheaded this initiative.”

The Sakharov Prize was awarded for the first time in 1988. The prize has been awarded to imprisoned political figures in the past, including Nelson Mandela in 1988 and Alexei Navalny in 2021.

More than 40 MEPs nominated Julian Assange for this year’s Sakharov Prize long list. Julian Assange’s wife Stella Assange addressed a meeting in Brussels on Tuesday, October 11th, in which she made the case for Julian Assange winning the award.


Stella Assange will return to Brussels next week to address the EU Parliament plenary before the final decision is taken (details TBC). 

The winner will be announced on October 19, an award ceremony will be held in Strasbourg on December 14.

Amnesty International’s Europe Director, Nils Muižnieks, has said in relation to the extradition case against Julian Assange:

“President Biden should take the opportunity to drop these politically motivated charges which have put media freedom and freedom of expression in the dock.

“President Obama opened the investigation into Julian Assange. President Trump brought the charges against him. It is now time for President Biden to do the right thing and help end this farcical prosecution which should never have been brought in the first place.”

More Details on the Sakharov Prize
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/sakharovprize/en/the-prize/faqs

Julian Assange’s wife Stella Assange speaks at the European Parliament on 12 October
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiM-Yz2GIho

Julian Assange and Volodymyr Zelensky are nominated for prestigious EU Freedom of Thought award | Daily Mail
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11304011/Julian-Assange-Volodymyr-Zelensky-nominated-prestigious-EU-Freedom-Thought-award.html?ito=social-twitter_mailonline

Last Saturday thousands of protesters gathered at the UK parliament and formed a human chain around the perimeter in a show of solidarity to the publisher
https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/assange-supporters-form-human-chain-uk-parliament-2022-10-08/

Earlier this week Julian Assange was confirmed to have contracted Covid-19 and is being held in 24 hour solitary confinement in London’s Belmarsh prison where he has been held since 2019
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/julian-assange-wikileaks-covid-prison-b2199310.html

Julian Assange faces a 175 year sentence if extradited to the US for his publishing work. All major free speech and human rights organizations including Amnesty, Reporters Without Borders, National Union of Journalists, Big Brother Watch and many more oppose his extradition which they say is a ‘threat to press freedom around the globe’.

Amnesty International: “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 human rights law”

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Post Press Clippings

Documentary ‘Ithaka’ about Julian Assange opened the fifth Human Rights Film Festival in Berlin

The fifth Human Rights Film Festival Berlin presented 41 films on the current state of human rights in the world from 13 to 23 October 2022. The festival’s opening film was ITHAKA: a powerful portrait of the family of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange reveals the personal consequences of his fight for the truth. 

The film celebrated its German premiere on 13 October in the historic hall of the Berlin Colosseum cinema.

“An impressive family: wife, father and brother of Julian Assange. In the film Ithaca, they take us on their fight against the blatant injustice against Julian Assange. approachable. Vulnerable. A visit to the Human Rights Film Festival in Berlin is worthwhile,” said Derya Türk-Nachbaur, Member of the German Bundestag and a member of the German delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE)

The film has been also shortlisted for the Australian 2022 Walkley Documentary Award. The film has already made its debut in Australia and the UK and has also been screened at the Sydney Film Festival 2021, Capricorn Film Festival 2022, docedge Film Festival 2022 and Sheffield Docfest 2022.

“Ithaka shows how far the richest and most powerful nations in the history of the world go to hide their crimes. Ithaka gets to the heart of how freedom of the press and our right to communicate are slowly being dismantled before our very eyes.” – Gabriel Shipton, brother of Julian Assange and producer of the documentary

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Post Press Clippings

Stella Assange, Wife Of Imprisoned WikiLeaks Founder, Fights For Power Against Authority At Bitcoin Amsterdam

At Bitcoin Amsterdam, Stella Assange advocated for her husband Julian’s freedom, drawing parallels between Bitcoin and WikiLeaks.

Stella Assange, wife of Julian Assange, the founder of classified document publisher WikiLeaks who has been confined to a London prison since 2019, took the stage at the Bitcoin Amsterdam event today in a keynote presentation titled “Free Assange.” She described the parallels between Bitcoin as a permissionless form of value transaction and WikiLeaks’ mission to disseminate vital information to the public, outlining that Julian’s battle for freedom is one that should resonate with adopters of Bitcoin.

“I was thinking about how to talk about freeing Julian here, and Julian told me, he explained Bitcoin to me back in 2011,” Stella Assange began, adding that Julian had been moved to solitary confinement last weekend after testing positive for COVID-19. “He explained the technology behind it, but he also gave me a big picture understanding of the significance of Bitcoin… I think (that explanation) is also a pathway to understanding the kind of parallel tracks of WikiLeaks and Bitcoin, and the future of Bitcoin and how that’s tied to what’s being done to Julian.”

Stella went on to recount the most infamous publications from WikiLeaks, including the “Spy Files” and files related to the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay from 2011. She outlined the role that Julian and the publishing platform played in spurring the Occupy Wall Street movement, and said that Julian called Bitcoin “the real Occupy Wall Street.” In 2013, WikiLeaks helped former NSA contractor Edward Snowden release mass surveillance disclosures, with Snowden himself going on to advocate for Bitcoin as a freedom tool.

She underscored the groundbreaking changes that WikiLeaks brought to the field of journalism in the age of the internet through its ability to protect anonymous sources online and its decisions to publish large amounts of information quickly and freely.

“In that sense, Bitcoin and Bitcoin technology are trying to fight censorship in a very similar way to how WikiLeaks has fought censorship using cryptography,” she explained. “(Julian) was an incredible pioneer and changed the way journalism is done. And he did that because Julian of course was a Cypherpunk, he’s a cryptographer and he understood that the major newsrooms had no idea how to protect their sources when they were operating on the internet.”

Stella also outlined the role that Bitcoin played in supporting WikiLeaks as centralized financial institutions attempted to silence it following its major document releases in 2011.

“Overnight practically, PayPal, Visa, Mastercard, they just shut off WikiLeaks from 97% of its revenue which came through (donations via the platforms),” she recalled. “And how was it done? It was done completely extralegally. It was a phone call from a few senators in the U.S. to these companies, and they just shut it off.”

She added that, by enabling freedom of information, Bitcoin is one of the emerging tools that can safeguard against eroding freedom of information in the digital age.

“Bitcoin breaks Orwell’s dictome, ‘He who controls the present, controls the past. And he who controls the past, controls the future,’” she said.

Finally, in an appeal for support in Julian’s ongoing legal fight, Stella argued that the U.S. is relying on vague and outdated language from the Espionage Act of 1917 to pursue a 175-year sentence were he extradited there. She suggested that those who similarly challenge authority with a permissionless monetary system like Bitcoin could one day face similar fates.

“What’s being done to Julian is not a legitimate use of the legal system,” she said. “It is bending the rules, it is corrupting the rules in order to keep him there and, in so doing, it is corrupting the whole system… Anyone that challenges the hegemonic order with innovation is up against that level.”

Originally published in Bitcoinmagazine.com

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Post Press Clippings

Julian Assange’s wife in the European Parliament for the Sakharov Prize nomination

BRUSSELS, 11 October 2022

MEP Sabrina Pignedoli and the 5 Star Movement officially presented the candidacy in the first phase of the selection for the Sakharov Prize, the highest recognition awarded by the Eurochamber to those who stand out in the battle for respect for human rights.

“My husband’s is a political case, Julian is a political prisoner, awards such as the Sakharov Prize act as political protection and in his case this prize could save his life. Winning this award would certainly change things,” says Mrs Assange.

“We wanted to promote Assange’s candidacy for the Sakharov Prize because Assange is paying dearly for telling the truth, so we believe he is the best candidate,” Sabrina Pignedoli.

“This candidacy is recognition of Julian’s work, who has fought all his life for freedom of expression and to ensure that this was a reality and that human rights violations could be made public so that we could ask governments to account for it before justice.

“Because this is a political case, he is a political prisoner, persecuted for publicizing the crimes of a truly powerful government, and this recognition could save his life.”

The fact that Julian Assange is in prison “is instead a clear message, which tells us that governments can commit crimes with impunity and be imprisoned even in the West, that the struggle for human rights no longer has any value and that indeed those who carry on this fight can be punished,” Stella Assange concluded.

Categories
Events Post

Hacking Justice: Julian Assange film screening and panel discussion

Register for the launch of a new campaign in solidarity with Julian Assange, including a livestreamed screening of “Hacking Justice” + Q&A

Amnesty International UK 25 New Inn Yard London EC2A 3EA United Kingdom

Date and time

Tue, 11 October 2022, 18:00 – 20:30 BST

About the event

A new activist-led campaign on press freedom launches this month focusing on the case of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

For over a decade, the US government’s unrelenting pursuit of Julian Assange for publishing evidence of war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan has represented a full-scale assault on freedom of expression.

Amnesty is calling on the US to drop its extradition and all charges against Assange. The UK government must also release him from Belmarsh Prison immediately.

Join us for a screening the newly revised cut of “Hacking Justice” plus Q&A on Tuesday 11 October, 6-8.30pm. This event will also be livestreamed from the Human Rights Action Centre.

As head of Julian Assange’s legal team, Baltasar Garzón warns that the growing influence of intelligence services puts freedom of information, our right to know what our governments are doing, and democracy at risk.

With privileged access to Assange and Wikileaks for nine years, “Hacking Justice: Julian Assange” witnesses the struggle for the control of information, the role of the mass media and the difficult balance of individual rights and state security.

REGISTER
Amnesty AssangeDownload
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Post Press Clippings

Stella Assange at Wired Next Fest 2022, Italy

The first meeting of the Wired Next Fest 2022 in Milan talked about Wikileaks and Julian Assange: a case that goes to the heart of the freedom of the press of the democracy of the future.

Stella Assange, first guest of the Wired Next Fest Milan 2022 said that “Julian’s case represents the destiny of our future”. In a room packed with people at the new Milanese edition of the Wired Next Fest 2022, hosted in the spaces of the Fabbrica del Vapor, the legal consultant and wife of the well-known journalist and activist defined the story of the Wikileaks case as “political” and Assange as a “political prisoner” . In 2010, about 600,000 documents relating to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were published on the WikiLeaks site he created, including videos revealing real war crimes committed by the US military.

For this reason Julian Assange is persecuted by the American government and has been hosted by the Ecuadorian embassy in London for years. At the moment he is in the British prison of Belmarsh, a maximum security prison in the English capital nicknamed the “British Guantanamo” following allegations of ill-treatment of the detainees. Regarding the condition of her husband, whom she sees twice a week with her children, Stella Assange tells of a very bad physical and mental state that has lasted since 11 April 2019, the day of her arrival in the British prison.

The key difference between the Assange case and the Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning cases, says Stella Assange, is that the latter “were whistleblowers and not editors of a news site.” In order to be able to try him, former US President Barack Obama had in fact spoken of the need for a precedent. “Julian is not American, he was not working for the United States and had no contractual obligations,” Assange continues, pointing out how the US government actually extended its jurisdiction outside the country, persecuting a journalist and a publisher for the mere fact that he has done his job.

“What happened after Julian’s case is quite the opposite of what he expected: the relationship between citizens and governments has become even more blurred, it joins the surveillance capabilities of the states and the increasing compression of our rights” says Stella Assange also referring to the fact that democracies like the United States contradict their own ideals of transparency.

Original article was published in Wired Italia.

https://www.wired.it/video/watch/stella-assange-wired-next-fest-2022

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Post Press Clippings

Julian Assange receives Keys to Mexico City

The Head of Government of Mexico City, Claudia Sheinbaum, named Julian Assange a Distinguished Guest and delivered the Keys to the City to the family of the founder of WikiLeaks, who is in Mexico at the invitation of the Presidency to the celebrations for the anniversary of the independence.

“Julian Assange represents the truth, he represents freedom of expression and never, anywhere in the world, can that be persecuted,” Sheinbaum said. John Shipton and Gabriel Shipton, father and brother of Julian Assange, attended the ceremony on Wednesday.

“Today, in this national month, we endorse Independence and because we always endorse freedom of expression, Julian Assange will be welcomed, through his family, to Mexico City.”

Jesús Ramírez Cuevas, general coordinator of Social Communication and Spokesman for the Government of the Republic, pointed out that Julian Assange could be considered a “21st century liberator.”

“We hand over the Keys to the City to the family of Julian Assange. For us, Julian represents the truth, freedom of expression. We are a progressive City that has always defended the great freedoms and the right to free access to information.” Claudia Sheinbaum, Head of Government of Mexico City

The Former Minister of National Defence of Ecuador Ricardo Patino was able to deliver to the father and brother of Julian Assange, the national journalism award given to the founder of Wikileaks by the Journalists Club of Mexico in 2018.

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Events Post

Free Assange Human Chain 8 October

Thousands of people have now pledged to surround UK parliament on Oct 8th by forming a Human Chain. Supporters around the world are holding rallies in solidarity including in Washington DC, with a great line up of speakers like Ben & Jerry’s cofounder Ben Cohen, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Chris Hedges, EPA whistleblower Marsha Coleman-Adepayo, and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou and more, which is organized by US’s Assange Defense.

Check out Candles4Assange for actions around the world, find your city and join with your friends and family.

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) calls on journalists unions, press freedom organisations and journalists to mobilise and express their solidarity.

The European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ-IFJ) also back global mobilisation on October 8 to free Julian Assange

NUJ members will join others too by forming a human chain around the Houses of Parliament to demonstrate the opposition to the extradition of Julian Assange.

Get your organisation to take part of the Surround Parliament Human Chain.

Model Resolution for organisations, groups, and others to adopt 

The national Surround Parliament demonstration on Saturday 8 October is fast approaching. We need the largest possible turnout so we are asking you if you are a member of a trade union or trades council, or political party, campaign or a community organisation or NGO, or a tenant’s group, or church, mosque, synagogue, or any other place of worship, take this model resolution and get your organisation to adopt it. That way the email lists, websites, social media feeds, and organising capacity of your group can help us mobilise.

This Model Resolution notes:

  1. The imprisonment of Julian Assange in Belmarsh high security prison.
  2. The attempt by the US government to extradite Julian Assange for revealing the truth about the Iraq and Afghan wars, and about Guantanamo bay.
  3. The US government attempt to use the 1917 espionage act in order if convicted to imprison Assange for a 175 year sentence.

This organisation believes:

  1. That a free press is essential to the proper working of a democratic society.
  2. That Julian Assange revealed material that was wholly in the public interest.
  3. The Julian Assange should not be extradited to the US and the charges against him should be dropped. 

This organisation resolves:

  1. To affiliate to the Don’t Extradite Assange campaign.
  2. To support the ‘Surround Parliament’ national demonstration on Saturday 8 October in support of Julian Assange. 
  3. To publicise this event to our members and supporters and to encourage them to attend. 
  4. Where possible to assist with transport to the protest. 
  5. To send the banner of our organisation where such exists

Stella Assange: Courage calls to Courage everywhere. Surround Parliament Oct 8 – form a human chain

‘Julian is fighting for his life – his life depends on not being extradited to the United States. 

This is a political case, it can be stopped here and it must be stopped here.

So on the 8th of October, come to London to show your solidarity, come help free Julian Assange.

Thank you for your support‘ – Stella Assange

Please join us in London on Saturday, 8th October in front of Parliament at 1pm to form a Human Chain to demand Julian Assange’s freedom.

Will you be part of the human chain to free Assange? We need your help to be part of this huge protest in support of Julian Assange and a free press. Please do sign up to pledge that you’ll be at Parliament to be part of the chain of support that will go from the front of parliament over Westminster bridge, along the south bank of the Thames and back over Lambeth bridge. Please be a link in the solidarity chain. Sign up here:

sign up for the human chain

Birmingham TUC is organising a coach to London from Birmingham and West Midlands. Get in touch with Stuart regarding availability and tickets.

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Post Press Clippings

Julian Assange receives honorary card of the Order of Journalists and becomes an honorary citizen of Pescara & Lucera, Italy

On Monday 5 September 2022 Julian Assange has been a awarded the honorary card of the Order of Italian Journalists. President Carlo Bartoli with the secretary Paola Spadari Venice officially delivered the card to Stefania Maurizi, a close collaborator, with the Casa degli Autori on the Lido of Venice, where the event was held.

The occasion was promoted by the Audiovisual Archive of the Labor and Democratic Movement and by the Articolo21 association, in collaboration with the National Federation of the Italian Press and the Order of Journalists.

“Defending Assange means defending the right of the press, freedom of information and the safety of whistleblowers,” – said the president of the Order Carlo Bartoli showing the honorary card for Assange at the authors’ house in Venice.

“This is why we decided to enroll Julian Assange in the Order of Italian Journalists. If an English court decides to extradite him to the US, in England – which was the cradle of press freedom, will become the funeral of freedom of information.”

Present were Carlo Bartoli and Paola Spadari, president and secretary of the National Council of the Order of Journalists, together with the Venetian colleagues Gianluca Amadori, member of the executive and Maurizio Paglialunga, coordinator of the CTS, with them also Giuliano Gargano President of the Veneto regional order . The meeting was also attended by Giorgio Gosetti, general delegate of the Authors’ Days; Giuseppe Giulietti, President of the Fnsi; Vincenzo Vita, president of Aamod. Contributions also include those of Monica Andolfatto, secretary of the Veneto Journalists Union; Tina Marinari, campaign coordinator of Amnesty International Italia; Manuela Piovano, vice president of the National Association of Authors and of the actress Ottavia Piccolo.

Originally published in Ordine dei Giornalisti.

The same time Assange was awarded honorary citizenship of Pescara in Italy. For the proposal of the councilors of the 5 Star Movement Erika Alessandrini, Massimo Di Renzo and Paolo Sola, the municipal council of the Adriatic city approved the motion with recognition proposed to the Wikileaks founder.

“Pescara joins the chorus of those who, all over the world, reiterate the defense of the right to freedom of the press which Julian Assange represents,” declared the councilor after the vote in the civic assembly. The recognition of honorary citizenship has a symbolic value but, the three councilors underline to “keep attention on the matter” and signify how “even the Pescara community feels it has to give its own contribution in defense of ideals such as the right to information and transparency”.

“The journalist, activist and founder of the WikiLeaks rose to the headlines in the international news in 2010 for revealing US war crimes, abuses and violence of the American armed forces during the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. The arrest by the British police and the extradition request by the United States where he faces up to 175 years in prison for publication of information in the public interest is a capital punishment. An event that sparked a great international protest and raised numerous appeals for the release of the journalist from public opinion and various human rights organizations.”

“For his reporting activity, Julian Assange has received, over the years, numerous commendations and awards, as well as having been repeatedly proposed for the Nobel Peace Prize for revealing the horrors of Western wars.”

Originally published in Pressenza.

Earlier Assange was also awarded honorary citizenship by the City Council of Lucera, in the province of Foggia. Lucera is the first municipality in Italy to officially confer citizenship to Julian Assange.

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PRESS RELEASE: Julian Assange Files his Perfected Grounds of Appeal

PRESS RELEASE

Today, 26 August 2022, Julian Assange is filing his Perfected Grounds of Appeal before the High Court of Justice Administrative Court. The Respondents are the Government of the United States and the Secretary of State for the Home Department, Priti Patel.

The Perfected Grounds of Appeal contain the arguments on which Julian Assange intends to challenge District Judge Vanessa Baraitser’s decision of 4 January 2021, and introduces significant new evidence that has developed since that ruling.

The Perfected Grounds of Appeal concerning the United States Government include the following points:

  • Julian Assange is being prosecuted and punished for his political opinions (s.81(a) of the Extradition Act);
  • Julian Assange is being prosecuted for protected speech (Article 10)
  • The request itself violates the US-UK Extradition Treaty and International law because it is for political offences;
  • The US Government has misrepresented the core facts of the case to the British courts; and
  • The extradition request and its surrounding circumstances constitute an abuse of process.

The Perfected Grounds of Appeal concerning the Secretary of State for the Home Department (SSHD) include arguments that Home Secretary Priti Patel erred in her decision to approve the extradition order on grounds of specialty and because the request itself violates Article 4 of the US-UK Extradition Treaty.

“Since the last ruling, overwhelming evidence has emerged proving that the United States prosecution against my husband is a criminal abuse. The High Court judges will now decide whether Julian is given the opportunity to put the case against the United States before open court, and in full, at the appeal,” said Julian Assange’s wife Stella Assange.

Background:

4 January 2021: Westminster Magistrates Court discharges (throws out) the US extradition request against Julian Assange. District judge Vanessa Baraitser rules that extradition is barred under the 2003 Extradition Act because it is “opressive” (s.91). The United States Government appeals.

27-28 October 2021: US appeal hearing before the High Court Appeal. Julian Assange suffers a transient ischemic attack (TIA) on the first day.

10 December 2021: The decision to discharge the extradition request is overturned by the High Court due to the United States Government issuing so-called ‘diplomatic assurances’ to the UK Government. The High Court rejects the United States Government’s arguments that the district judge erred in her findings.

14 March 2022: The Supreme Court refuses Julian Assange permission to appeal the High Court’s decision. The case is sent back to the Magistrates’ Court with instruction to issue the extradition order.

20 April 2022: The Magistrate issues the extradition order, which is sent to Home Secretary Priti Patel for approval.

17 June 2022: Home Secretary Priti Patel approves the extradition order to extradite Julian Assange to the United States.

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The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, met with Assange’s wife

25 August 2022

ENGLISH

Today, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, met with Julian Assange’s wife, Stella Assange, and Mr. Assange’s Spanish lawyers, Baltasar Garzón and Aitor Martínez, at the Palais Wilson in Geneva.

At the meeting, the High Commissioner was informed about the human rights violations against Julian Assange, the risk to his life if he is extradited to the United States, and the implications for freedom of the press and the right of citizens to the truth.

The meeting lasted a little over an hour. Mr. Assange’s lawyers, Baltasar Garzón and Aitor Martínez, explained Mr. Assange’s current situation in the context of the United Kingdom’s extradition proceedings. The High Commissioner was informed that there are currently two pending appeals before the British High Court. The first, against the decision of the Home Office to agree to hand over Julian Assange to the United States; and the second, the cross appeal brought by the WikiLeaks founder against the arguments that district judge Vanessa Baraitser rejected in the lower court’s ruling.

Mr. Assange’s lawyers explained in detail to High Commissioner Michel Bachelet the grounds that are before the High Court of the United Kingdom. Some of these grounds represent a very serious attack, not only on the rights of Mr. Assange, but also on freedom of the press globally. They discussed how, by criminally prosecuting a journalist for publishing truthful information related to serious international crimes committed by the United States Army, the United States’ case against Mr. Assange is also an aggression on the freedom of the press globally and on the right of access to information.

Similarly, the absence of dual criminality was discussed, since the Espionage Law of 1917 is being invoked to prosecute a journalist for exercising his profession, a rule that would not apply in Europe under the criminal standards of the continent.

In addition, his lawyers discussed how this case violates the principle of proportionality, as Julian Assange faces a potential prison sentence of 175 years, a de facto life sentence, simply for publishing information related to international crimes, which are crimes that the international community is under an obligation to prosecute. The lawyers also exposed the abusive extraterritoriality deployed by the United States in persecuting a foreign journalist who published abroad and who has no ties to the US jurisdiction.

Along with other arguments, the criminal cases opened by Spain to investigate the security company UC GLOBAL (which provided security services to the Embassy of Ecuador in London in apparent collaboration with US intelligence services to systematically spy on Mr. Assange, his lawyers and other visitors in Ecuador’s diplomatic mission for years), recently caused the Spanish Audiencia Nacional (aquivalent to the High Court) to issue a summons to take statements from Mike Pompeo, former director of the CIA, and William Evanina, former chief of US counterintelligence.

Finally, the High Commissioner was informed of a recent investigation revealing that Mike Pompeo’s Central Intelligence Agency instructed its agents to develop plans to kidnap Julian Assange from the Ecuadorian embassy and even to draw up ‘sketches and options’ for his assassination.

His lawyers argued that minimal international human rights standards ought to have prevented the authorization to extradite of him to the country that has planned his assassination.

Furthermore, Mr. Assange’s lawyers discussed all the limitations suffered by Mr. Assange to his right to mount a defense, as well as the ways in which his political asylum was breached in the Ecuadorian embassy in London.

For her part, Stella Assange, the wife of Julian Assange, focused on the frail state of Mr. Assange’s health. She invoked various medical reports that confirmed the risk of Mr Assange dying in prison including that extradition could drive him to take his own life, a risk corroborated by specialists’ reports before the British courts.

In addition, she highlighted the fact that the Special Rapporteur against Torture, Nils Melzer, visited her husband in Belmarsh prison with specialized doctors and concluded, in a very harsh report sent to the Human Rights Council, that Julian Assange was being subjected to a situation of torture. Regarding the medical situation, she recalled that her husband recently suffered a transient ischemic attack (TIA), and she expressed a profound and serious concern for his life.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michel Bachelet, together with members of her team, received the information provided at the meeting and had a very productive exchange with the lawyers for Mr. Assange and his wife.

—-
ENDS

ESPAÑOL

Hoy, la Alta Comisionada de las Naciones Unidas para los Derechos Humanos, Michelle Bachelet, se reunió con la esposa de Julian Assange, Stella Assange, y los abogados españoles del Sr. Assange, Baltasar Garzón y Aitor Martínez, en el Palais Wilson de Ginebra.
 
En la reunión se le informó sobre las violaciones a los derechos humanos contra Julian Assange, el riesgo para su vida si es extraditado a Estados Unidos y las implicaciones para la libertad de prensa y el derecho de los ciudadanos a la verdad.

La reunión duró algo más de una hora. En la misma, los abogados del Sr. Assange, Baltasar Garzón y Aitor Martínez, expusieron la situación actual del Sr. Assange en el marco de la extradición que se está dilucidando en Reino Unido. En este sentido se comunicó a la Alta Comisionada que actualmente existen dos apelaciones pendientes que serán solventadas por la High Court británica. La primera, contra la decisión del Home Office de acordar la entrega de Julian Assange a Estados Unidos; y la segunda, la “cross appeal” de la defensa del fundador de WikiLeaks contra aquellos aspectos denegados en la primera decisión por parte de la jueza de distrito, Vanessa Baraitser.

En relación a esta segunda apelación, el equipo jurídico expuso con todo detalle a la Alta Comisionada, Michel Bachelet, los elementos que van a ser valorados por la High Court en Reino Unido. Algunos de esos elementos suponen un gravísimo atentado, no sólo a los derechos del Sr. Assange, sino a la libertad de prensa en el mundo. Para ello se expuso la agresión que la causa abierta en Estados Unidos significa para la libertad de prensa en el mundo y el derecho de acceso a la información, toda vez que se persigue penalmente a un periodista por publicar información veraz relativa a graves crímenes internacionales cometidos por el ejército de Estados Unidos. De igual forma, se expuso la falta de doble incriminación, ya que se está invocando la Ley de Espionaje, de 1917, para perseguir a un periodista por ejercer su profesión, una norma que no tendría aplicación en Europa bajo los estándares penales del continente. Además, se recordó la violación que esta causa supone al principio de proporcionalidad, al enfrentar Julian Assange potenciales penas de 175 años de cárcel, una cadena perpetua de facto, simplemente por publicar información relativa a crímenes internacionales, sobre los cuales existe una obligación de persecución por parte de la comunidad internacional. También se expuso la extraterritorialidad abusiva desplegada por Estados Unidos, persiguiendo a un periodista extranjero que publicó en el extranjero y que no tiene vínculos con su jurisdicción. Junto a otros argumentos, igualmente se expuso lo relativo a las causas penales abiertas en España para investigar a la empresa de seguridad UC GLOBAL, la cual proveía servicios de seguridad a la Embajada de Ecuador en Londres y habría colaborado con los servicios de inteligencia norteamericanos para espiar en forma masiva al Sr. Assange, sus abogados y demás visitantes en la misión diplomática por años, lo que ha motivado que recientemente la Audiencia Nacional española haya pedido tomar declaración a Mike Pompeo, ex director de la CIA, y a William Evanina, ex jefe de contrainteligencia. Por último, se puso al tanto a la Alta Comisionada que recientemente se reveló en Estados Unidos por parte de agentes de la CIA que se llegó a planear el secuestro de Julian Assange, incluso proyectándose su asesinato en la Embajada de Ecuador en Londres, contexto que impide bajo los mínimos estándares internacionales de derechos humanos que se puede autorizar la entrega a la jurisdicción que proyectó su asesinato.

Así mismo se compartió todas las limitaciones que se han venido sufriendo en el ejercicio del derecho de defensa por parte del señor Assange, y el incumplimiento de las condiciones del asilo en la embajada de Ecuador en Londres.

Por su parte, Stella Assange, la esposa de Julian Assange, se centró en el delicado estado de salud que atraviesa el Sr. Assange. Recordó los diversos informes médicos que confirmaron el riesgo de morir en prisión o de que cometiera suicidio en caso de ser entregado, tal y como se informó por parte de diversos especialistas a la justicia británica. Además, resaltó el hecho de que el Relator Especial contra la Tortura, Nils Melzer, visitó a su esposo en la prisión de Belmarsh con médicos especializados y concluyó, en un durísimo informe remitido al Consejo de Derechos Humanos, que Julian Assange estaba siendo sometido a una situación de tortura. En relación a la situación médica, recordó que su esposo recientemente sufrió un derrame cerebral, mostrando una profunda y seria preocupación por su vida.

La Alta Comisionada para los Derechos Humanos de Naciones Unidas, Michel Bachelet, junto a miembros de su equipo, recibió la información aportada en el referido encuentro y mantuvo un intercambio muy productivo con la defensa del Sr. Assange y su esposa.

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Attorneys and Journalists Illegally Searched During Visits with Julian Assange Sue CIA and Michael Pompeo

Press Conference

Legal Filing

Lawsuit against CIA, Mike Pompeo, UC GlobalDownload
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Parliamentary Actions Post

Against the extradition of Julian Assange to the US

By Sevim Dagdelen, 08 July 2022

Members of parliament from the DIE LINKE, SPD, Greens and FDP parliamentary groups speak out against the extradition of the journalist and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the USA:

Journalists must not be persecuted or punished for their work anywhere. UK Home Secretary Priti Patel’s decision on June 17, 2022 to authorize the extradition of journalist, Julian Assange, to the US is regrettable and wrong. Julian Assange must be released immediately in the interest of freedom of the press, as well as for humanitarian reasons due to his poor health.

Julian Assange has not been able to live freely for more than 11 years. He has been in solitary confinement in the UK since April 2019 awaiting the UK government’s decision to extradite him to the US. He is threatened with 175 years in prison for exposing war crimes, committed by the US in Iraq and Afghanistan.

A free press is an elementary part of democracy. We are deeply concerned about the chilling effect that Assange’s extradition and sentencing could have on press freedom and investigative journalism worldwide. With regard to freedom of the press, there must be no restrictions. Assange’s extradition would send a fatal signal to journalists around the world.

We join many British MPs in calling on the UK government to defend press freedom and to reconsider its decision to extradite Assange to the US. Resolution 2317 of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe also calls for the immediate release of Assange. We also call on US President Joe Biden to refrain from the extradition request.

We support the German government in its talks with the United Kingdom and the United States in resolutely emphasizing this concern and in campaigning for Julian Assange and the end of his political persecution.

MdB Erklärung gegen Auslieferung von Julian Assange an die USADownload

Original text translated from linksfraktion.de

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London Bus Tour for Julian Assange’s 51st birthday

As Julian Assange turns 51 his legal defence team has lodged an appeal to prevent his extradition to the US.

Last month, UK Home Secretary Priti Patel approved Assange’s extradition, with her office saying British courts had concluded his extradition would not be incompatible with his human rights, and that he would be treated appropriately.

Supporters of Assange held protests ahead of his 51st birthday, including one in an open-top double-decker London tour bus that passed by British government buildings in Westminster on Friday.

Assange’s wife, Stella, was among dozens of people who demonstrated outside Britain’s interior ministry to demand his release.

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The Assange case: International solidarity and implications for press freedom globally

International and national organisations from Brazil organized a parallel online event to the 50th Ordinary Session of the UN Human Rights Council.

The main speakers of the event were Stella Assange, wife of Julian Assange, Vijay Prashad, journalist (International Peoples’ Assembly), Zuliana Lainez, vice-president of the IFJ (International Federation of Journalists), and Rebecca Vincent, director of campaigns of Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

The event was livestreamed in English and Portuguese.

“Without strong international mobilization, journalist Julian Assange will not be free. By publishing on WikiLeaks thousands of documents, photos, and videos that showed the involvement of the United States and its allies in the death of innocent people and in spying on an international scale, Assange fulfilled his duty as a journalist. That is why the struggle for his freedom affects all of us. It is a fundamental struggle in what it says about revealing the truth about war crimes and for press freedom,” declares Giovani del Prete, of the Operational Secretariat of the International Peoples’ Assembly.

“It is essential that the international human rights system closely monitors and take a position on the situation of Julian Assange, in particular on his situation of imprisonment and psychological health, but also on the issue of freedom of the press and freedom of expression under the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This event adds to the many international actions on the case, with a strong appeal for the human rights system to enforce the guarantee of dignity and rights of Julian Assange,” comments Eneias da Rosa, Executive Secretary of the Articulation for the Monitoring of Human Rights in Brazil.

Representatives and invited guests of the following organizations will also participate:
International Federation of Journalists (IFJ)
Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
Progressive International (PI)
Platform for Human Rights (AMDH)
Brazilian Association of Jurists for Democracy (ABJD)
National Movement for Human Rights (MNDH)
Maranhense Society for Human Rights (SMDH)

Organizers:
Platform for Human Rights (AMDH)
International Peoples’ Assembly
Brazilian Association of Jurists for Democracy (ABJD)
National Movement for Human Rights (MNDH)
Maranhense Society for Human Rights (SMDH)

Supports:
Indigenous Missionary Council (CIMI)
Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
ARTICLE 19 Brazil and South America
Lawyers for Assange

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Journalists associations, media, Editors-in-chief, mobilize in support of Julian Assange

At the invitation of the Geneva Press Club/Club suisse de la presse, Swiss and international organizations of journalists and editors call with one voice for the release of Julian Assange in the name of press freedom on June 22 at the Swiss Press Club in Geneva at 11:00 am CEST. A broad-based coalition of journalists and media outlets has been formed after the British government authorized the extradition of the WikiLeaks founder to the United States on June 17, where he faces 175 years in prison. This Geneva-based coalition, which has been joined by journalistic organizations from many other countries, is calling directly on the British and American authorities. It also asks the Swiss authorities, in the name of freedom of the press and human rights, to intervene to ensure Julian Assange a refuge in Switzerland or elsewhere.

For all citizens: 

Sign the “Geneva’s Call to free Assange” launched in 2021

For journalists only: 

Sign the initiative “Speak Up For Assange”

“We are demanding that Julian Assange be freed, returned to his family, and finally permitted to live a normal life,” said Dominique Pradalie, head of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ)

“Democracy is being taken hostage. This attempt at criminalising journalism is a serious threat,” warned Pierre Ruetschi, the head of the Swiss Press Club who hosted the event.

“If Julian Assange can be threatened with prosecution as a spy, what might that mean for other journalists?” Tim Dawson, from the National Union of Journalists added.

With the participation of 

  • Edgar Bloch, Co-President, impressum, Swiss journalists
  • Daniel Hammer, General Secretary, Swiss Media
  • Denis Masmejan, Secretary General, Reporters Without Borders Switzerland
  • Dominique Pradalié, President of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and Syndicat national des journalistes (SNJ) France
  • Marc Meschenmoser, Co-president of Investigativ.ch
  • Jean-Philippe Ceppi, Producer of Temps présent (RTS) and member investigativ.ch
  • Nicole Lamon, Deputy editor-in-chief, Matin Dimanche
  • Frédéric Julliard, Editor-in-chief, Tribune de Genève
  • Philippe Bach, Editor-in-Chief, Le Courrier
  • Serge Michel, Editor-in-Chief, heidi.news
  • Tim Dawson, National Union of Journalists, Great Britain (zoom)
  • Karen Percy, Media President of the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA), Australia
  • Mika Beuster, National deputy director, Deutscher Journalisten Verband (Germany)
  • Jean Musy, President, Association of foreign press in Switzerland (APES)
  • Agustin Yanel, Secretary general, Federation of the unions of spanish journalists, Spain
  • Pierre Ruetschi, Executive Director, Geneva Press Club and President of the Dumur Award

Ten other Swiss editors-in-chief support the Appeal and other international Journalists organization are joining.

Originally published at the Geneva Press Club.

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Post Press Clippings Press Release

Statements on today’s decision of Patel’s approval to extradite Julian Assange

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Post Press Release

BREAKING: Extradition Statement: Patel approves extradition

This is a dark day for Press freedom and for British democracy. Anyone in this country who cares about freedom of expression should be deeply ashamed that the Home Secretary has approved the extradition of Julian Assange to the United States, the country that plotted his assassination.
Julian did nothing wrong. He has committed no crime and is not a criminal. He is a journalist and a publisher, and he is being punished for doing his job.

It was in Priti Patel’s power to do the right thing. Instead, she will forever be remembered as an accomplice of the United States in its agenda to turn investigative journalism into a criminal enterprise.

Foreign laws now determine the limits of press freedom in this country and the journalism that won the industry’s most prestigious prizes has been deemed an extraditable offence and worthy of a life sentence.

The path to Julian’s freedom is long and tortuous. Today is not the end of the fight. It is only the beginning of a new legal battle. We will appeal through the legal system; the next appeal will be before the High Court. We will fight louder and shout harder on the streets, we will organise and we will make Julian’s story known to all.

Make no mistake, this has always been a political case. Julian published evidence that the country trying to extradite him committed war crimes and covered them up; tortured and rendered; bribed foreign officials; and corrupted judicial inquiries into US wrongdoing. Their revenge is to try to disappear him into the darkest recesses of their prison system for the rest of his life to deter others from holding governments to account.

We will not let that happen. Julian’s freedom is coupled to all our freedoms. We will fight to return Julian to his family and to regain freedom of expression for us all.

ENDS

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Check out Stella Assange’s latest interviews

BBC HARDtalk: Will Julian Assange be extradited to the US?

Stephen Sackur spoke to lawyer Stella Moris, wife of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and mother of two of his children. Watch full interview for UK only on BBC iPlayer. You can listen to the interview on BBC UK Sounds.

The full video is also available to watch here.

Double Down News: The CIA Plot to Kill My Husband Julian Assange

Julian Assange’s wife, Stella Assange spoke on Double Down News on the CIA plot to kill her husband in revenge for exposing war crimes and fight to save his life. She asks for your help to free Julian and to take any action to bring him home.

Progressive International: Special appeal from Stella Assange

“How can the UK even contemplate extraditing a journalist to the country that plotted to kill him for his groundbreaking journalism?”

The Project: Stella Assange On Julian Assange’s Last-Ditch Legal Bid To The UK

After a decade-long legal battle, the fate of Julian Assange now rests in the hands of Britain’s Home Secretary Priti Patel after his legal team handed in its final submission.

“The case is purely political and we hope there will be a poitical resolution…the UK could at any time stop this extradition.”

GB News: WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Kristinn Hrafnsson

‘To extradite him [Julian Assange] as a result of his political persecution is unacceptable.’ WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Kristinn Hrafnsson says extraditing Julian Assange would be a ‘stain’ on the UK’s reputation.

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Post Press Release

Letter from Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, Nobel Peace laureate to UK Secretary of State Priti Patel

The Rt. Hon Priti Patel
Secretary of State for the Home Department
2 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DF

19 May 2022

Dear Home Secretary,

I am writing to you with deep concerns for the safety of Mr Julian Paul Assange who is facing extradition to the United States. I am writing to ask you to reject the US government’s extradition request of Mr Assange, a decision now under the responsibility of the Secretary of State.

On 4 January 2021, the British court barred Mr Assange extradition on the grounds of section 91 of the Extradition Act 2003. The court ruled that Mr Assange’s “suicidal impulses would come from his psychiatric diagnoses rather than his own voluntary act”, rendering “oppressive” in terms of the law to extradite him”. The Court recognised that there is a great likelihood that if extradite, that Mr Assange will end his own life.

The United Nations Official report also concluded on 1 November 2019 that “[u]nless the UK urgently changes course and alleviates his inhumane situation, Mr. Assange’s continued exposure to arbitrariness and abuse may soon end up costing his life.” The extradition to the United States will aggravate those conditions. Over 60 doctors from around the world raised concerns about the precarious state of Mr. Assange’s physical and mental health which included fears for his life. The International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute states that, in view of Mr Assange being a victim of psychological torture, his extradition to the USA would be also illegal under international human rights law.

The Council of Europe considers that Mr Assange’s treatment to be among “the most severe threats to media freedom”.

Amnesty International, press freedom and human rights organisations, legal, medical and other professional associations have called for Mr Assange’s immediate release. They condemned the illegality of this extradition proceedings under procedural (breach of the right of a fair trial) and material grounds.

The EU Parliament, Parliamentarians, head of states and former head of States world-wide, legal practitioners and legal academics express concerns about the violations of Mr. Julian Assange’s fundamental human, civil and political rights and the precedent his persecution is setting.

I join the growing collective concerns, which have been expressed about the violations of Mr. Julian Assange’s fundamental human, civil and political rights and the precedent his persecution is setting for press freedom and the assertion of the universal jurisdiction of the United States of America. The United Kingdom, a sovereign country with longstanding tradition in the upholding the rule of law, should refuse the abusive and illegal extradition request by the United States of America.

Former Secretary of State for the Home Department, Theresa May, has correctly halted Gary McKinnon’s extradition in recognition of the same psychiatric condition as Mr Assange.

There could be potentially fatal consequences if the United Kingdom chooses to pursue this extradition. Therefore, I urge you, the Secretary of State for the Home Department, to uphold the rule of law and reject the extradition order.

Adolfo Pérez Esquivel

Nobel Prize for Peace

Adolfo Pérez Esquivel Letter to Priti PatelDownload
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Assange awarded German Günter Wallraff Prize 2022 in journalism

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange receives the “Günter Wallraff Prize” at an event hosted by Deutschlandfunk in Cologne. The prize was awarded to his wife Stella Assange during the 6th Cologne Forum for Journalism Criticism. It honors critical journalism and civil courage on behalf of Günter Wallraff, Germany’s best-known investigative journalist.

Deutschlandfunk editor-in-chief Birgit Wentzien made a clear statement: “Putting grievances public is a core task of journalism. That is exactly what Julian Assange did. He has published documents leaked to him by his sources. Should Julian Assange be convicted for this, it would set a global precedent and act as a deterrent to reporters around the world. ‘Julian Assange affects us all’”.

Wallraff praised Assange for his tenacity as a journalist, who through his tenacity opened up a new world and was the type of a new person

“Julian’s trial is political and publicity is critical to how it will end. The prosecution is designed to silence Julian, remove him from public consciousness – and with him all the deaths of the tens of thousands of civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan that he has exposed,” Stella said.

Further information, the detailed program and the live stream can be found at www.deutschlandfunk.de/journalismuskritik

The Forum for Criticism of Journalism is an event organized by the Deutschlandfunk newsroom and the News Enlightenment Initiative (INA), co-organized this year by the Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences.

Read Stella Assange’s recent interview about the award in German: „Die Rolle Deutschlands ist für den Fall Julian Assange entscheidend“

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Post Press Clippings

Reporters Without Borders petition and Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights letter to Priti Patel

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) delivered a petition last week, calling on UK Home Secretary Priti Patel to reject the extradition of WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange to the United States.

They urged Patel not to sign the extradition order and instead act to protect journalism and press freedom by releasing Assange without further delay.

“We are grateful to supporters from around the world for signing this petition and adding their voices to the global call on the UK government not to extradite Julian Assange. The message is clear: a move to extradite Assange would be a move against journalism and press freedom. We call on Priti Patel to reject the extradition order and secure Assange’s immediate release, and will continue our global campaign until he is free,” said RSF Director of Operations and Campaigns Rebecca Vincent.

Commissioner calls on UK government not to extradite Julian Assange

In a letter, published May 10th, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović, called on UK Home Secretary Priti Patel not to extradite Julian Assange.

“As I have previously stated, it is my position that, taking into account both these wider implications and the concerns raised by independent experts about Mr Assange’s treatment upon extradition, the government of the United Kingdom should not allow his extradition to the United States. I therefore call upon you to decide against the extradition of Mr Assange.” the letter says.

COE LetterDownload

Letter from Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, Nobel Peace laureate to UK Secretary of State Priti Patel

Nobel Peace laureate pens letter to UK Home Secretary calling for release of Julian Assange amid ‘violations of Mr. Assange’s fundamental human, civil and political rights and the precedent his persecution is setting for press freedom’

“The United Kingdom, a sovereign country with longstanding tradition in the upholding the rule of law, should refuse the abusive and illegal extradition request by the United States of America” the letter says.

The Nobel Peace Prize laureate warned that “there could be potentially fatal consequences if the UK decides to go ahead with this extradition” of the WikiLeaks founder.

Adolfo Pérez Esquivel letter to UK Secretary of State Priti PatelDownload
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Julian Assange documentary screening in London’s Curzon Soho Cinema

The documentary film “Hacking Justice: Julian Assange”, made by Clara López Rubio and Juan Pancorbo, was shown first time in London’s cinema last Wednesday. It has been broadcast previously on several European television outlets and shown at Film Festivals around the world.

The screening was followed up by a live Q&A with Julian Assange’s wife Stella Assange, UK Member of Parliament Apsana Begum and the film director Clara López Rubio.

You can watch the full screening on Consortium News YouTube channel.

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Protest in front of Home Office to Free Assange

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