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At the behest of Trump regime hardliners, truth-telling investigative journalist/whistleblower Assange was politically imprisoned in Britain on spurious US charges with no legitimacy.
On January 4, UK District Court Judge Vanessa Baraitser rejected the Trump regime’s request to extradite Assange to the US, saying:
“I have decided that extradition would be oppressive and I order his discharge.”
Instead of ordering him released straightaway from unjust confinement under harsh conditions, she denied his legal team’s bail request — based on the following phony reason, saying:
“I am satisfied that there are substantial grounds for believing that if Mr Assange is released today he would fail to surrender to court to face the appeal proceedings (sic),” adding:
“As far as Mr Assange is concerned, this case has not yet been won…The outcome of this appeal is not yet known.”
Assange remains in harsh Belmarsh prison confinement.
Injustice against him continues with no near-term prospect for resolution.
Biden regime hardliners are no different from their predecessors.
According to their injustice department spokesman Marc Raimondi:
“We continue to seek (Assange’s) extradition.”
On February 8, speech, media, and academic freedom advocates — along with champions of civil liberties and human rights groups — wrote to Biden regime’s acting attorney general Monty Wilkerson as follows, saying:
“We…share our profound concern about the ongoing criminal and extradition proceedings relating to Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks, under the Espionage Act and the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act,” adding:
“(W)e share the view that the government’s indictment of him poses a grave threat to press freedom both in the United States and abroad.”
“We urge you to drop the appeal of the decision by Judge Vanessa Baraitser of the Westminster Magistrates’ Court to reject the Trump administration’s extradition request.”
“We also urge you to dismiss the underlying indictment.”
“The indictment of Mr. Assange threatens press freedom because much of the conduct described in the indictment is conduct that journalists engage in routinely—and that they must engage in in order to do the work the public needs them to do.”
“Journalists at major news publications regularly speak with sources, ask for clarification or more documentation, and receive and publish documents the government considers secret.”
“In our view, such a precedent in (Assange’s) case could effectively criminalize these common journalistic practices.
A total of 24 organizations signed the letter, including:
- The ACLU
- Center for Constitutional Rights
- Committee to Protect Journalists
- Defending Rights and Dissent
- Electronic Frontier Foundation
- First Amendment Coalition
- Free Press
- Freedom of the Press Foundation
- National Coalition Against Censorship
- Roots Action
- Press Freedom Defense Fund of First Look Institute
- Whistleblower & Source Protection Program (WHISPeR) at ExposeFacts
The above and other calls on Biden to drop spurious charges against Assange and order his release were rejected.
Criminalizing his truth-telling journalism continues — a US dagger thrust into the heart of constitutionally affirmed First Amendment rights bipartisan hardliners want undermined by repressive legislation.
If occurs, extraditing Assange to the US for politicized show trial persecution will be another major body blow to digital democracy, the last frontier of media freedom.
Crucifying him for truth-telling journalism and whistleblowing revelations of government wrongdoing reflects the hallmark of totalitarian rule.
Censorship of what’s vital to know is likely prelude for much greater harshness to come.
We’re all Julian Assange. His fate is ours.
Free and open societies in the US and West hang in the balance.
Growing tyranny threatens their elimination altogether.
If digital democracy goes, what remains of fundamental freedoms will go with it.
When truth-telling and dissent are considered existential threats, free and open societies no longer exist.
That’s the slippery slope where the US and other Western states are heading.
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Stephen Lendman is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG).
VISIT MY WEBSITE: stephenlendman.org (Home – Stephen Lendman). Contact at [email protected].
My two Wall Street books are timely reading:
“How Wall Street Fleeces America: Privatized Banking, Government Collusion, and Class War”
https://www.claritypress.com/product/how-wall-street-fleeces-america/
“Banker Occupation: Waging Financial War on Humanity”
https://www.claritypress.com/product/banker-occupation-waging-financial-war-on-humanity/
Featured image is from Lawyers for Assange
