Time is running out for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange as his potential extradition edges closer. A final decision is due to be made by the High Court in London in September meaning he could be sent to the United States within a matter of months. His wife Stella Morris says, “Julian’s life depends on him winning.”
Despite the UK district judge ruling “it would be oppressive to extradite him” the Supreme Court overruled this. The request was accelerated to the Home Secretary, Priti Patel, who is set to rubber stamp the extradition.
An 11th hour plea to stop it was then filed and so now Julian remains in Belmarsh, the UK’s most notorious high security prison. Some inmates have served less time than Julian after the decade milestone in detention is passed including over four years in Belmarsh since his capture in 2019.
Before that he sought asylum in London’s Ecuadorian Embassy. Inside, he was allegedly spied on by the CIA. Assange’s lawyers are now taking legal action by suing the CIA and its former director Mike Pompeo for recording conversations and copying data from phones and computers. Not to mention the reports that say the agency plotted to kidnap Assange, kill and poison him.
From the Embassy to Belmarsh, the WikiLeaks founder served a 50-week sentence for skipping bail in 2012 when he first entered sanctuary in the Embassy. He has long completed his original 50-week sentence, yet he has remained in custody ever since, with bail numerously denied. This is despite not having been convicted of any crime – making him a political prisoner.
The US wants Julian Assange for his alleged role in what it calls “one of the largest compromises of classified information in the history of the United States.” It has indicted him on 18 counts under the Espionage Act for publishing classified military documents related to the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Guantanamo Bay detention facility in addition to one charge of conspiracy to hack a government computer to publish these secret documents. In other words, Julian published a cache of cables exposing war crimes committed by the American government.
For a start, and for sake of clarity, journalism is not an act of espionage. Espionage is a state act and secrets are intended to be kept secret to said states. Journalism is a public act and therefore involves intentional disclosure.
We now know the War on Terror, was fought on fabrications, delusions and lies. From the so-called ‘liberation mission’ of women in Afghanistan to responding to weapons of mass destruction that could be unleashed in less than 45 minutes, the Middle East has suffered severely from such duplicitousness. And, thanks to Julian Assange we now know during such wars that crimes of the worst kind were committed.
Indeed, it is easy to lose your way in the 10 year long legal labyrinth; from accusations of illegal hacking and espionage indictments to extradition laws, to jurisdiction decisions. But Assange’s case is as political as it is legal. In many ways, more so.
The quote commonly attributed to George Orwell — ‘In a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act’ couldn’t be more relevant to the case of Assange.
Assange’s lawyers say the case is “extraordinary, unprecedented and politicised.” Offences of this nature are exempt from extradition under the terms of the UK-US extradition treaty, meaning he is protected under the First Amendment. Or at least, he should be.
Instead, for telling the truth about the military complex and the acts committed by Western troops, Julian is facing a potential death sentence. If the US gets their hands on him, he will most likely be convicted and sentenced up to 175 years behind bars. Julian’s defence say he “faces a fate worse than death” in the ADX Colorado Jail where he would be in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day. They say he already suffers suicidal thoughts “numerous time a day.” And we know his physical health is deteriorating day by day.
Handing him over to the US would not only put him at risk but poses a danger to journalists everywhere. Supporters and campaigners have long said it is not just Assange that is in the dock, but beside him sits the fundamental tenets of freedom of press and the public’s right to access information. Extraditing Assange will not only silence him but will gag other journalists worldwide as well.
Lawyers are working around the clock to set him free, and public opinion is increasingly on Julian’s side, but the clock is ticking as to whether he can appeal. Join Stop the War Coalition to form a Human Chain, around Parliament on October 8th, to demand Julian Assange’s freedom. His fate is in our hands.
