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Assange Extradition- Britain Agrees to Extradite Publisher to Country that Plotted to Assassinate Him (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter ren hoek
- Start date
ren hoek
Footballguy
About as well as this act of solidarity went:
The overwhelming brunt of the charges, around 170+ years of them, are squared directly on the act of publishing. It was about publishing. We know that now. Tons of free press orgs, civil liberty outfits, anyone with a sense of basic human decency have expressed outrage at these unprecedented charges.
Anyway, Manning was granted clemency without anyone taking up the offer as a condition for release. I don't blame Assange for not voluntarily waltzing into a CIA blacksite when she was already freed.
Henry Ford
Footballguy
It would be cool if we could discuss the charges realistically. I think I’ve explained them.
Hint: it isn’t pure publishing.
SaintsInDome2006
Footballguy
It's kind of off base but kind of not. Brazil looking at investigating Greenwald.
- This is really really confusing because - Brazil - but it sounds like Intercept released some reporting on leaked (or stolen, not sure) data involving Brazilian politics. Then a random blogger on twitter claimed that other leaked (or stolen) data revealed it had come from a Russian hacker and that GG had paid for it. It also involves the prosecution of Lula, the prosecutor who may have been a Bolsonaro ally, GG's spouse who apparently is a leftist Brazilian politician, and other assorted craziness.
- This is really really confusing because - Brazil - but it sounds like Intercept released some reporting on leaked (or stolen, not sure) data involving Brazilian politics. Then a random blogger on twitter claimed that other leaked (or stolen) data revealed it had come from a Russian hacker and that GG had paid for it. It also involves the prosecution of Lula, the prosecutor who may have been a Bolsonaro ally, GG's spouse who apparently is a leftist Brazilian politician, and other assorted craziness.
Sweet J
Footballguy
I may be looking at things incredibly simplistic.
If Peter Jennings published information showing that the US violated international law, he shouldn't be indicted.
If Peter Jennings broke into the White House, stole a flash drive with key information on it, and then published the contents, then maybe he should be indicted.
If Peter Jennings paid a bunch of guys to break into the White House, or the Pentagon, or where ever, so that they could hand over a flash drive that he publishes, then again maybe he should be indicted.
This simple guy's brain thinks of Assange just that simply: We all know he published information. Did he steal that info that he published? Because in my mind, there is no difference between breaking into my house to steal my flash drive and hacking my email.
If Peter Jennings published information showing that the US violated international law, he shouldn't be indicted.
If Peter Jennings broke into the White House, stole a flash drive with key information on it, and then published the contents, then maybe he should be indicted.
If Peter Jennings paid a bunch of guys to break into the White House, or the Pentagon, or where ever, so that they could hand over a flash drive that he publishes, then again maybe he should be indicted.
This simple guy's brain thinks of Assange just that simply: We all know he published information. Did he steal that info that he published? Because in my mind, there is no difference between breaking into my house to steal my flash drive and hacking my email.
ren hoek
Footballguy
As You Celebrate Your Freedom, Remember Julian Assange | Opinion
Today the United States mark "Independence Day", a historical turning point in the becoming of a great nation. On this day, the world celebrates great truths enshrined in the 1776 Declaration, which epitomize the very concept of modern democracy: "that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, that to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed, that whenever any form of Government becomes destructive of these Ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its Foundation on such Principles, and organizing its Powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness". In short, Independence Day celebrates the right and duty to free and just dissent.
Indeed, throughout history, dissidents have brought about lasting political change, liberation from oppression, and the empowerment of the people. By 'dissident', I do not mean the opposition in parliament, I mean political activists challenging established power from the outside. Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, and Nelson Mandela were dissidents whose names are now cherished worldwide. Yet, all of them radically challenged the political, social and economic order of their time, which got two of them murdered and the third incarcerated for 27 years.
What is it, then, that makes dissidents such a threat? Contrary to common criminals they serve a higher cause. Contrary to terrorists, they inform, empower and mobilize the people. And contrary to parliamentary oppositions, they have no stakes in corrupt institutions and practices that often feed both sides of the political aisle. Governments fear dissidents, because they cannot be owned and controlled. Some imprison, torture and execute them routinely, based on classified evidence and summary trials. Others conceal their oppression behind a veil of due process, crushing them through judicial harassment and defamation.
Whether we like it or not, Julian Assange is a dissident. He despises secrecy and cannot be tamed, bought or otherwise controlled. He has flooded the world with compromising disclosures, including evidence for war crimes, aggression and abuse, without ever resorting to violence or fake news. He has initiated a paradigm shift in public awareness and dried up safe havens of governmental impunity. And like everyone who endangers the perks of the powerful, he has been made to pay the price.
But how do you break a political dissident, a promoter of truth and transparency? Well, first you attack his reputation and credibility, and destroy his human dignity. You maintain a constant trickle of poisonous rumors, first half-truths and then increasingly bold lies. You keep him suspected of rape without trial, of hacking and spying, and of smearing feces on Embassy walls. You portray him as an ungrateful narcissist with a cat and a skateboard, whose only aim is self-glorifying exceptionalism.
By making him unlikeable in the eyes of the world, you ensure no one will feel any empathy, so once his voice is muzzled and his isolation complete, he can be burned at the stake with impunity. Most importantly, having degraded him to a clown for the entertainment of all, you will have diverted attention from his spotlight on your own crimes. Next, you make sure that any attempt of his to expose your lies comes at the cost of extradition to a hanging judge in a land bent to see his head on a stick, where torturers enjoy impunity. You then pressure his country of refuge into submission - military and economic leverage never fail - and you turn his protectors into enemies, and his daily existence into attritive hell.
The method is deliberate, concerted, and sustained, and employs isolation, hostility, and shame. Whether you call it "bullying," "mobbing," or "persecution" - in essence it is all the same. It purposefully inflicts severe mental suffering and aims to coerce, punish, and intimidate. It is thus, under international law, nothing else than full-fledged psychological torture. Mind you, psychological torture is neither 'soft' nor 'light'. It aims straight at the destruction of your innermost self, albeit without leaving a physical trace. It targets your emotions, your mind and your dignity, and instills chronic shame and anxiety. Through relentless over-stimulation, confusion and stress, it eventually causes total exhaustion, cardiovascular failure and nervous collapse.
Let us not be fooled, extraditing Assange was never about hacking, rape, espionage or narcissism. It is about drowning his radical challenge to government secrecy, which holds the power to change world affairs forever, inspired by the truths and principles proclaimed in the 1776 Declaration. That is why the powerful persecute Assange with ferocity, while proven war criminals are allowed to walk free. And as you watch him pay for the audacity of exposing corruption and crime, please ponder what this means for you, your country, and your family. Ponder deep and ponder hard, and then use your democratic rights to hold your Government to account.
For once telling the truth has become a crime, while the powerful enjoy impunity, then your own rights may well be next in line. A precedent of censorship and tyranny will have been set, through the backdoor of our own complacency, which can and will be applied just as well to the New York Times, BBC World and ABC News. So on this day, let us remember this truth, declared 243 years ago: "A Prince, whose Character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the Ruler of a free People."
Today the United States mark "Independence Day", a historical turning point in the becoming of a great nation. On this day, the world celebrates great truths enshrined in the 1776 Declaration, which epitomize the very concept of modern democracy: "that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, that to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed, that whenever any form of Government becomes destructive of these Ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its Foundation on such Principles, and organizing its Powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness". In short, Independence Day celebrates the right and duty to free and just dissent.
Indeed, throughout history, dissidents have brought about lasting political change, liberation from oppression, and the empowerment of the people. By 'dissident', I do not mean the opposition in parliament, I mean political activists challenging established power from the outside. Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, and Nelson Mandela were dissidents whose names are now cherished worldwide. Yet, all of them radically challenged the political, social and economic order of their time, which got two of them murdered and the third incarcerated for 27 years.
What is it, then, that makes dissidents such a threat? Contrary to common criminals they serve a higher cause. Contrary to terrorists, they inform, empower and mobilize the people. And contrary to parliamentary oppositions, they have no stakes in corrupt institutions and practices that often feed both sides of the political aisle. Governments fear dissidents, because they cannot be owned and controlled. Some imprison, torture and execute them routinely, based on classified evidence and summary trials. Others conceal their oppression behind a veil of due process, crushing them through judicial harassment and defamation.
Whether we like it or not, Julian Assange is a dissident. He despises secrecy and cannot be tamed, bought or otherwise controlled. He has flooded the world with compromising disclosures, including evidence for war crimes, aggression and abuse, without ever resorting to violence or fake news. He has initiated a paradigm shift in public awareness and dried up safe havens of governmental impunity. And like everyone who endangers the perks of the powerful, he has been made to pay the price.
But how do you break a political dissident, a promoter of truth and transparency? Well, first you attack his reputation and credibility, and destroy his human dignity. You maintain a constant trickle of poisonous rumors, first half-truths and then increasingly bold lies. You keep him suspected of rape without trial, of hacking and spying, and of smearing feces on Embassy walls. You portray him as an ungrateful narcissist with a cat and a skateboard, whose only aim is self-glorifying exceptionalism.
By making him unlikeable in the eyes of the world, you ensure no one will feel any empathy, so once his voice is muzzled and his isolation complete, he can be burned at the stake with impunity. Most importantly, having degraded him to a clown for the entertainment of all, you will have diverted attention from his spotlight on your own crimes. Next, you make sure that any attempt of his to expose your lies comes at the cost of extradition to a hanging judge in a land bent to see his head on a stick, where torturers enjoy impunity. You then pressure his country of refuge into submission - military and economic leverage never fail - and you turn his protectors into enemies, and his daily existence into attritive hell.
The method is deliberate, concerted, and sustained, and employs isolation, hostility, and shame. Whether you call it "bullying," "mobbing," or "persecution" - in essence it is all the same. It purposefully inflicts severe mental suffering and aims to coerce, punish, and intimidate. It is thus, under international law, nothing else than full-fledged psychological torture. Mind you, psychological torture is neither 'soft' nor 'light'. It aims straight at the destruction of your innermost self, albeit without leaving a physical trace. It targets your emotions, your mind and your dignity, and instills chronic shame and anxiety. Through relentless over-stimulation, confusion and stress, it eventually causes total exhaustion, cardiovascular failure and nervous collapse.
Let us not be fooled, extraditing Assange was never about hacking, rape, espionage or narcissism. It is about drowning his radical challenge to government secrecy, which holds the power to change world affairs forever, inspired by the truths and principles proclaimed in the 1776 Declaration. That is why the powerful persecute Assange with ferocity, while proven war criminals are allowed to walk free. And as you watch him pay for the audacity of exposing corruption and crime, please ponder what this means for you, your country, and your family. Ponder deep and ponder hard, and then use your democratic rights to hold your Government to account.
For once telling the truth has become a crime, while the powerful enjoy impunity, then your own rights may well be next in line. A precedent of censorship and tyranny will have been set, through the backdoor of our own complacency, which can and will be applied just as well to the New York Times, BBC World and ABC News. So on this day, let us remember this truth, declared 243 years ago: "A Prince, whose Character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the Ruler of a free People."
Henry Ford
Footballguy
SaintsInDome2006
Footballguy
I'm guessing this really means they were hacked.
Jeremy Hammond, who was convicted of computer fraud in 2013 for hacking the private intel firm Stratfor and releasing data to WikiLeaks, has been subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia.
ren hoek
Footballguy
The Grayzone @GrayzoneProject
Legendary musician @RogerWaters sang "Wish You Were Here" in honor of Julian Assange, at a protest outside the UK Home Office.
He was joined by journalist @JohnPilger and MP @DerbyChrisW in calling for the imprisoned Wikileaks publisher to be freed, and not extradited to the US.
Legendary musician @RogerWaters sang "Wish You Were Here" in honor of Julian Assange, at a protest outside the UK Home Office.
He was joined by journalist @JohnPilger and MP @DerbyChrisW in calling for the imprisoned Wikileaks publisher to be freed, and not extradited to the US.
ren hoek
Footballguy
Really have to tip the hat to his and Manning's principled stand against the archaic grand jury system. The stuff of kangaroo courts.
ren hoek
Footballguy
https://splinternews.com/the-pamela-anderson-meghan-mccain-smackdown-i-didnt-kno-1837933586
https://twitter.com/JordanUhl/status/1170014219280027653
Pam Anderson dunked on John McCain's daughter
https://twitter.com/JordanUhl/status/1170014219280027653
Pam Anderson dunked on John McCain's daughter
msommer
Footballguy
ren hoek
Footballguy
Assange didn't abscond from anything. He was granted asylum from political persecution for exposing US war crimes. The UN ruled that he'd been arbitrarily detained and should be compensated for the time he's been held up in the embassy.
I know this is a joke court system and they have every intention of torturing him forever, but it is disingenuous for the judge to frame it that way.
I know this is a joke court system and they have every intention of torturing him forever, but it is disingenuous for the judge to frame it that way.
SaintsInDome2006
Footballguy
Even Assange fell at the mercy of the bar on this one, go back and read his comments in court.
msommer
Footballguy
He absconded while on bail. That is why he is in jail. Over this you may rail. But it is nothing but truth
Henry Ford
Footballguy
Thread title still inaccurate.
ren hoek
Footballguy
ren hoek
Footballguy
Well they just said he's staying in jail beyond his sentencing for the extradition trial. So the British legal system's reason for holding him will be over soon, and he will be kept in solitary indefinitely for that. If he was just some guy on the street and not a publisher who exposed war crimes, he would have walked away a long time ago.
Any reasonable court would agree he was operating under extraordinary circumstances way beyond a trivial bail violation.
ren hoek
Footballguy
msommer
Footballguy
Any reasonable court will say (and is saying) "Fool me once, shame on me. Not happening again"
People are held for extradiction all the time, there is nothing strange in that.
ren hoek
Footballguy
Not for publishing.
Any reasonable court will say (and is saying) "Fool me once, shame on me. Not happening again"
People are held for extradiction all the time, there is nothing strange in that.
ren hoek
Footballguy
To our knowledge he didn't hack anything either. If 'espionage' applies to publishing to the entire world, then a whole lot of news organizations are in trouble in the US.
We will gain knowledge during the legal proceedings under which Assange is being extradited so please stand by while the case is in progress.
pinkham13
Footballguy
Never thought I would see the day where communist ideals are favored by a large percentage of Americans. Sanctuary cities, Limiting free speech, invading privacy and infringement of second amendment rights the left has gone all the way left.
Espionage against the US of A used to arise vitriol from those on the right, but party(personality) over country appears to be their order of the day.
ren hoek
Footballguy
Nope. Everything Assange published wrt the US was about exposing war crimes that were happening in our name. The attempt to crack the hash, which didn't even work, was about protecting a source who was exposing war crimes. A free society stands up for whistleblowers. This needs to be rejected outright.
SaintsInDome2006
Footballguy
SaintsInDome2006
Footballguy
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ren hoek
Footballguy
Not sure why it’s surprising to you that people play nice with the court. It’s not a vindication of the proceedings themselves. The UN ruled he was arbitrarily detained, and they were right. What he is being persecuted for, is disclosures that were in the public interest.
There’s no legitimate pretense for him being subjected to months of solitary confinement, let alone extradited to be tortured for the rest of his life. He shouldn’t have been at the mercy of this judge to begin with.
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snitwitch
Footballguy
Dinsy Ejotuz
Footballguy
Just an innocent publisher!
ren hoek
Footballguy
The UN expert on torture who also visited him at Belmarsh said that Julian exhibits the effects of prolonged psychological torture. He has been tortured by indefinite detention, and the prospect of extradition to the US for a show trial, where he would face 175 years in jail—an effective death sentence—is without doubt a form of torture. Still, I’m struck over and over again by the times he takes the conversation away from him and into principles and the broader implications of his case: ‘This isn’t just about me, Flick; this is about so many people, every journalist in the UK. If I can be grabbed, just another Australian working in London, any journalist or publisher can be grabbed for simply doing their jobs’.
A few weeks earlier, at a Greens event in Sydney, I lost my temper on a panel with someone who had similarly said, ‘This isn’t about Julian; this is about journalism’. I spat back, ‘Well, when is it going to be about Julian, too? When he’s dead? When they’ve killed him? When do you reckon it can be about an Australian publisher who’s in a UK cage being punished by the US for publishing the truth about wars in Iraq and Afghanistan?’
It’s difficult to imagine, even for nine minutes, the choices made over the last nine years—the snap decisions, bookshop visits, bus trips, gardens dug, gifts wrapped—but almost all of them he can’t relate to except as a distant memory. This radically changes normal conversation with Julian. Nothing is normal; every step of the legal and political process over the last nine years has been anomalous, and the context and pretext too have been manipulated by any number of strategies, some of which have been leaked, to infect and affect the perception of him, his work and his supporters. This radically changes normal conversation about him, even with some of my most thoughtful friends.
I hug farewell a much thinner man than the one I formerly knew, and a different person disappears into the hallway when the visit is over, although both of our left fists are raised, as usual.
On our way home from the visit, a call came through to advise that a technical hearing had been unexpectedly brought forward to the following day. At this ‘technical hearing’ the district judge pre-emptively ruled out bail. But it wasn’t a bail hearing, and Julian’s lawyers had not even had a chance to apply for bail, but the judge ruled it out without hearing any arguments or facts. When the judge asked if he understood, Julian said, ‘Not really. I’m sure the lawyers will explain it’. He didn’t understand because this was incomprehensibly irregular, again, but also because he has no access to court documents and legal files in order to help prepare his case.
On Monday 23 September Julian completed his sentence for breaching bail and will be held by the United Kingdom only so that the United States can try to extradite him. That is to say, he will have served his prison sentence for committing the crime of applying for, and receiving, political asylum. Ecuador granted asylum because it was obvious that the United States planned to prosecute him for publishing. Among many other things, he is being prosecuted for publishing the real numbers of civilians who have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan—thousands of people who were the victims of bombings, maiming and torture. He has also published information about journalists killed by Western forces, including José Couso, the Spanish journalist killed in Iraq by US troops (the Spanish were then pressured by the United States not to argue for an investigation). That’s why they want to lock Julian away: to set an example, and so that they can do it again in the future without being held accountable.
So Julian was right all along. He sought asylum from the very scenario he now faces: extradition to a US show trial and an effective death sentence for publishing information in the public interest. The charges’ extreme nature have muted the vitriolic hatred reserved for Julian, though not the pop-psychology pronouncements on his personality (a personality I happen to enjoy and love, as does Noam Chomsky, Daniel Ellsberg, Slavoj Žižek, Patti Smith, P. J. Harvey, Scott Ludlam, Ken Loach and many other diverse thinkers and activists.) Now, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, and the Guardian make disparaging remarks about Julian’s personality before expressing grave concern about the charges he faces, because indeed, as UK Special Envoy on Media Freedom Amal Clooney stated at the June Global Conference for Media Freedom, they ‘criminalise common practices in journalism’.
So, finally, publishers and journalists around the world understand that their fate is entwined with Julian’s, who has no hope of a fair trial in the United States. He is charged under the Espionage Act, the first ever use against a publisher, where no public-interest defence is allowed. This is why the UK judge and home secretary should not extradite Julian Assange to the United States. Voices are becoming louder as the realisation dawns that if this extradition goes ahead, any national-security or investigative journalist in the United Kingdom or anywhere in the world can be grabbed, setting a terrible precedent for all journalists and publishers.
In the United States, Trump’s Department of Justice is attempting to coerce Chelsea Manning and Jeremy Hammond into testifying against Julian in a secret grand jury process where there is no judge—an institution that has been abolished in every other country besides Liberia. While they, too, are in prison indefinitely, Manning and Hammond are resisting. Where will this stop? It needs to stop with Julian walking out of Belmarsh, and then out of Sydney Airport, so that his eyes, damaged by so many years of being inside, might finally adjust to find wombat and wallaby trails here at home. Until then, we have to keep fighting his extradition, calling on the United Kingdom to resist, and for the Australian government to bring this citizen and publisher home.
https://arena.org.au/assange-behind-bars-by-felicity-ruby/
A few weeks earlier, at a Greens event in Sydney, I lost my temper on a panel with someone who had similarly said, ‘This isn’t about Julian; this is about journalism’. I spat back, ‘Well, when is it going to be about Julian, too? When he’s dead? When they’ve killed him? When do you reckon it can be about an Australian publisher who’s in a UK cage being punished by the US for publishing the truth about wars in Iraq and Afghanistan?’
It’s difficult to imagine, even for nine minutes, the choices made over the last nine years—the snap decisions, bookshop visits, bus trips, gardens dug, gifts wrapped—but almost all of them he can’t relate to except as a distant memory. This radically changes normal conversation with Julian. Nothing is normal; every step of the legal and political process over the last nine years has been anomalous, and the context and pretext too have been manipulated by any number of strategies, some of which have been leaked, to infect and affect the perception of him, his work and his supporters. This radically changes normal conversation about him, even with some of my most thoughtful friends.
I hug farewell a much thinner man than the one I formerly knew, and a different person disappears into the hallway when the visit is over, although both of our left fists are raised, as usual.
On our way home from the visit, a call came through to advise that a technical hearing had been unexpectedly brought forward to the following day. At this ‘technical hearing’ the district judge pre-emptively ruled out bail. But it wasn’t a bail hearing, and Julian’s lawyers had not even had a chance to apply for bail, but the judge ruled it out without hearing any arguments or facts. When the judge asked if he understood, Julian said, ‘Not really. I’m sure the lawyers will explain it’. He didn’t understand because this was incomprehensibly irregular, again, but also because he has no access to court documents and legal files in order to help prepare his case.
On Monday 23 September Julian completed his sentence for breaching bail and will be held by the United Kingdom only so that the United States can try to extradite him. That is to say, he will have served his prison sentence for committing the crime of applying for, and receiving, political asylum. Ecuador granted asylum because it was obvious that the United States planned to prosecute him for publishing. Among many other things, he is being prosecuted for publishing the real numbers of civilians who have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan—thousands of people who were the victims of bombings, maiming and torture. He has also published information about journalists killed by Western forces, including José Couso, the Spanish journalist killed in Iraq by US troops (the Spanish were then pressured by the United States not to argue for an investigation). That’s why they want to lock Julian away: to set an example, and so that they can do it again in the future without being held accountable.
So Julian was right all along. He sought asylum from the very scenario he now faces: extradition to a US show trial and an effective death sentence for publishing information in the public interest. The charges’ extreme nature have muted the vitriolic hatred reserved for Julian, though not the pop-psychology pronouncements on his personality (a personality I happen to enjoy and love, as does Noam Chomsky, Daniel Ellsberg, Slavoj Žižek, Patti Smith, P. J. Harvey, Scott Ludlam, Ken Loach and many other diverse thinkers and activists.) Now, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, and the Guardian make disparaging remarks about Julian’s personality before expressing grave concern about the charges he faces, because indeed, as UK Special Envoy on Media Freedom Amal Clooney stated at the June Global Conference for Media Freedom, they ‘criminalise common practices in journalism’.
So, finally, publishers and journalists around the world understand that their fate is entwined with Julian’s, who has no hope of a fair trial in the United States. He is charged under the Espionage Act, the first ever use against a publisher, where no public-interest defence is allowed. This is why the UK judge and home secretary should not extradite Julian Assange to the United States. Voices are becoming louder as the realisation dawns that if this extradition goes ahead, any national-security or investigative journalist in the United Kingdom or anywhere in the world can be grabbed, setting a terrible precedent for all journalists and publishers.
In the United States, Trump’s Department of Justice is attempting to coerce Chelsea Manning and Jeremy Hammond into testifying against Julian in a secret grand jury process where there is no judge—an institution that has been abolished in every other country besides Liberia. While they, too, are in prison indefinitely, Manning and Hammond are resisting. Where will this stop? It needs to stop with Julian walking out of Belmarsh, and then out of Sydney Airport, so that his eyes, damaged by so many years of being inside, might finally adjust to find wombat and wallaby trails here at home. Until then, we have to keep fighting his extradition, calling on the United Kingdom to resist, and for the Australian government to bring this citizen and publisher home.
https://arena.org.au/assange-behind-bars-by-felicity-ruby/
ren hoek
Footballguy
Courage Foundation @couragefound
Bail sentence ends: UK now holding Julian Assange solely on US’ behalf #FreeAssange #NoUSExtradition
As @CraigMurrayOrg has written, "The sole reason for his incarceration [is now] the publishing of the Afghan and Iraq war logs leaked by Chelsea Manning, with their evidence of wrongdoing and multiple war crimes.”
Assange, who has been held in solitary confinement in HMP Belmarsh, will continue to be imprisoned for at least five more months, until his extradition hearing currently scheduled for February 2020.
Assange has been so isolated that he can lose track of the date and the day of the week. When supporters came to Belmarsh on his birthday, he couldn't make out what they were saying. Assange didn't know it was his birthday, only finding out the next day.
Bail sentence ends: UK now holding Julian Assange solely on US’ behalf #FreeAssange #NoUSExtradition
As @CraigMurrayOrg has written, "The sole reason for his incarceration [is now] the publishing of the Afghan and Iraq war logs leaked by Chelsea Manning, with their evidence of wrongdoing and multiple war crimes.”
Assange, who has been held in solitary confinement in HMP Belmarsh, will continue to be imprisoned for at least five more months, until his extradition hearing currently scheduled for February 2020.
Assange has been so isolated that he can lose track of the date and the day of the week. When supporters came to Belmarsh on his birthday, he couldn't make out what they were saying. Assange didn't know it was his birthday, only finding out the next day.
ren hoek
Footballguy
Mark Curtis
Remember the preposterous bull#### reported by corporate media, including Guardian and BBC, on Assange using embassy to spy on Ecuador? Well, here’s the reality, as any journalist should have known, and probably did - the opposite.
Spanish security company spied on Julian Assange in London for the United States
Assange was surveilled 24/7, audio/video footage was fed back to the CIA.
Remember the preposterous bull#### reported by corporate media, including Guardian and BBC, on Assange using embassy to spy on Ecuador? Well, here’s the reality, as any journalist should have known, and probably did - the opposite.
Spanish security company spied on Julian Assange in London for the United States
Assange was surveilled 24/7, audio/video footage was fed back to the CIA.
ren hoek
Footballguy
Morales ordered his workers to install microphones in the embassy’s fire extinguishers and also in the women’s bathroom, where Assange’s lawyers, including the Spaniard Aitor Martínez and his closest collaborators, would meet for fear of being spied on. The cyberactivist’s meetings with his lawyers, Melynda Taylor, Jennifer Robinson and Baltasar Garzón, were also monitored.
The UC Global S. L. team was also ordered by its boss to install stickers that prevented the windows of the rooms that the WikiLeaks founder used from vibrating, allegedly to make it easier for the CIA to record conversations with their laser microphones. They also took a used diaper that from a baby that was on occasions taken to visit the activist in order to determine if the child was his by a close collaborator.
The former military man also planted microphones in a number of decorative elements inside the embassy, which were photographed for their reproduction in Spain. He also wanted to install them in the room used by “the guest,” as Assange was referred to in his reports, but some of his workers, concerned over the illegality of these jobs, warned him that they could be discovered. “The WikiLeaks founder was obsessed with being spied on,” a former employee of the company said.
The spying on Assange increased after Lenin Moreno came to power in Ecuador. At that time, Morales regularly flew to New York and Washington, this newspaper has managed to confirm. Among the UC Global S. L. client list is Sheldon Adelson and his gaming company Las Vegas Sands. For years the Spanish company has been providing security for the business magnate’s yacht when it is in Mediterranean waters. This job is usually carried out personally by Morales himself.
Adelson has a close friendship with US President Donald Trump and is one of the main donors to the Republican Party. Among his security personnel is a former CIA chief. In 2018 an investigation by The New York Times revealed that Julian Assange became a target for CIA spying under the mandate of former director Mike Pompeo. Official sources admitted to the US newspaper that WikiLeaks was being investigated in search of alleged links between its founder and Russian intelligence.
The UC Global S. L. team was also ordered by its boss to install stickers that prevented the windows of the rooms that the WikiLeaks founder used from vibrating, allegedly to make it easier for the CIA to record conversations with their laser microphones. They also took a used diaper that from a baby that was on occasions taken to visit the activist in order to determine if the child was his by a close collaborator.
The former military man also planted microphones in a number of decorative elements inside the embassy, which were photographed for their reproduction in Spain. He also wanted to install them in the room used by “the guest,” as Assange was referred to in his reports, but some of his workers, concerned over the illegality of these jobs, warned him that they could be discovered. “The WikiLeaks founder was obsessed with being spied on,” a former employee of the company said.
The spying on Assange increased after Lenin Moreno came to power in Ecuador. At that time, Morales regularly flew to New York and Washington, this newspaper has managed to confirm. Among the UC Global S. L. client list is Sheldon Adelson and his gaming company Las Vegas Sands. For years the Spanish company has been providing security for the business magnate’s yacht when it is in Mediterranean waters. This job is usually carried out personally by Morales himself.
Adelson has a close friendship with US President Donald Trump and is one of the main donors to the Republican Party. Among his security personnel is a former CIA chief. In 2018 an investigation by The New York Times revealed that Julian Assange became a target for CIA spying under the mandate of former director Mike Pompeo. Official sources admitted to the US newspaper that WikiLeaks was being investigated in search of alleged links between its founder and Russian intelligence.
SaintsInDome2006
Footballguy
I like El Pais and frankly given the WL involvement in Spanish affairs it makes sense.
ren hoek
Footballguy
SaintsInDome2006
Footballguy
I thought you had made this point actually. WL was propagating pro-separatist tweets and leaks in advance of the Catalonia vote/separation. I know this seems odd, but Ecuador even after all these years still has a close relationship with Spain, regardless of government and it was a sore point domestically as well as Vs Spain. Supposedly it’s one of the motivators for kicking JA out.
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ren hoek
Footballguy
EDITORIAL: Don’t Railroad Julian Assange to Virginia
October 22, 2019 • 24 Comments
The WikiLeaks legal team has a strong case to throw out Assange’s extradition request after the government that wants him extradited got hold of surveillance video of his privileged attorney-client conversations.
If this were a normal legal case, WikiLeaks’ lawyers would almost certainly be able to get the extradition request by the United States for their client Julian Assange thrown out on the grounds that his privileged conversations with his lawyers at Ecuador’s London embassy were secretly videotaped.
The very nation that wants him extradited to stand trial in Virginia has obtained access to those videos. In a normal extradition case it would be hard to imagine Britain sending a suspect to a country whose government has already eavesdropped on that suspect’s defense preparations.
But this is not a normal legal case.
“The Case should be thrown out immediately. Not only is it illegal on the face of the treaty, the U.S. has conducted illegal operations against Assange and his lawyers which are the subject of a major investigation in Spain,” WikiLeaks Editor-In-Chief Kristinn Hrafnsson said on Monday as the imprisoned Assange appeared before a judge in magistrate’s court in London.
“I don’t understand how this is equitable,” Assange told the court. “This superpower had 10 years to prepare for this case and I can’t access my writings. It’s very difficult where I am to do anything but these people have unlimited resources…They are saying journalists and whistleblowers are enemies of the people. They have unfair advantages dealing with documents. They [know] the interior of my life with my psychologist” as the CIA presumably obtained videos of those conversations as well. Assange was then packed off in a van back to his dreary cell at Belmarsh prison.
This is a travesty of justice on many levels.
The existence of Section E of the 1917 Espionage Act, which technically incriminates the unauthorized possession and dissemination of U.S. classified material by anyone, anywhere in the world, effectively criminalizes investigative journalism and is a travesty that must be challenged on First Amendment grounds.
And now a defendant’s rights to a fair trial here in Virginia have been seriously undermined, indeed practically nullified, after his conversations with his attorneys came into the possession of the government that wants to prosecute him.
But this is not about justice. This is about revenge.
No case better illustrates just how corruptly powerful the U.S. and British intelligence services and militaries have become, as well as the justice system of both nations, which defend those corrupt interests.
No case better illustrates how those powerful interests are protected by the legal system in punishing the man who did most to expose their crimes to a public, a public rendered apathetic by an Establishment media that has distracted them and presetided Assange as an enemy of the people.
No case better illustrates how the U.S. and Britain, together carrying out illegal mass surveillance and unending war, are clinging to a mere pretense of democracy.
That pretense is being imperiled by the adjudication of this case.
If both governments care in the very least about maintaining an appearance of following the rule of law, it has this opportunity: Let Julian Assange go.
October 22, 2019 • 24 Comments
The WikiLeaks legal team has a strong case to throw out Assange’s extradition request after the government that wants him extradited got hold of surveillance video of his privileged attorney-client conversations.
If this were a normal legal case, WikiLeaks’ lawyers would almost certainly be able to get the extradition request by the United States for their client Julian Assange thrown out on the grounds that his privileged conversations with his lawyers at Ecuador’s London embassy were secretly videotaped.
The very nation that wants him extradited to stand trial in Virginia has obtained access to those videos. In a normal extradition case it would be hard to imagine Britain sending a suspect to a country whose government has already eavesdropped on that suspect’s defense preparations.
But this is not a normal legal case.
“The Case should be thrown out immediately. Not only is it illegal on the face of the treaty, the U.S. has conducted illegal operations against Assange and his lawyers which are the subject of a major investigation in Spain,” WikiLeaks Editor-In-Chief Kristinn Hrafnsson said on Monday as the imprisoned Assange appeared before a judge in magistrate’s court in London.
“I don’t understand how this is equitable,” Assange told the court. “This superpower had 10 years to prepare for this case and I can’t access my writings. It’s very difficult where I am to do anything but these people have unlimited resources…They are saying journalists and whistleblowers are enemies of the people. They have unfair advantages dealing with documents. They [know] the interior of my life with my psychologist” as the CIA presumably obtained videos of those conversations as well. Assange was then packed off in a van back to his dreary cell at Belmarsh prison.
This is a travesty of justice on many levels.
The existence of Section E of the 1917 Espionage Act, which technically incriminates the unauthorized possession and dissemination of U.S. classified material by anyone, anywhere in the world, effectively criminalizes investigative journalism and is a travesty that must be challenged on First Amendment grounds.
And now a defendant’s rights to a fair trial here in Virginia have been seriously undermined, indeed practically nullified, after his conversations with his attorneys came into the possession of the government that wants to prosecute him.
But this is not about justice. This is about revenge.
No case better illustrates just how corruptly powerful the U.S. and British intelligence services and militaries have become, as well as the justice system of both nations, which defend those corrupt interests.
No case better illustrates how those powerful interests are protected by the legal system in punishing the man who did most to expose their crimes to a public, a public rendered apathetic by an Establishment media that has distracted them and presetided Assange as an enemy of the people.
No case better illustrates how the U.S. and Britain, together carrying out illegal mass surveillance and unending war, are clinging to a mere pretense of democracy.
That pretense is being imperiled by the adjudication of this case.
If both governments care in the very least about maintaining an appearance of following the rule of law, it has this opportunity: Let Julian Assange go.
-fish-
Footballguy
Explain why the case should be thrown out. You notice there are no quotes from lawyers...just the editor in chief of Wikileaks and Assange himself.
Why would Assange have an expectation of privacy in the Ecuadoran embassy? Wasn't Assange eventually kicked out of the embassy due to his violation of the terms of asylum due to his attempts to interfere with the affairs of other states, including by continuing to publish documents obtained by illegal means (including Vatican documents)? There was a court order telling him he needed to follow the embassy's rules, and he violated both the order and the terms of his asylum.
Why would Assange have an expectation of privacy in the Ecuadoran embassy? Wasn't Assange eventually kicked out of the embassy due to his violation of the terms of asylum due to his attempts to interfere with the affairs of other states, including by continuing to publish documents obtained by illegal means (including Vatican documents)? There was a court order telling him he needed to follow the embassy's rules, and he violated both the order and the terms of his asylum.
SaintsInDome2006
Footballguy
I think you kinda missed a beat here.
Assange appeared in court in London requesting an extension of his extradition, and... what happened was he lost his request.
msommer
Footballguy
ren hoek
Footballguy
https://twitter.com/horvatsrecko/status/1196781568624332802
Sweden finally drops its bogus rape investigation.
Sweden finally drops its bogus rape investigation.
ren hoek
Footballguy
I think you missed the beat. It’s been proven that the CIA was spying on Assange, spying on his communications with psychiatrists, spying on his privileged communications with lawyers. In a real justice system, a case where the government seeking to extradite an individual it illegally spied on out of political animus would be thrown out immediately.
The judge’s husband has links to the British military establishment. Her son works for an anti-data leak company created by GCHQ and MI5, with staff recruited directly from NSA and CIA. The judge should have recused herself, yet they continue onward with this rigged charade.
After several months of psychological torture in solitary confinement, Assange could hardly bring himself to remember his own name or recall his date of birth.
What’s happening here is repulsive, full stop, period. Decent people such as yourself should stop humoring the Trump DOJ’s war on journalism, and the continued torture of their political prisoner.
ren hoek
Footballguy
Julian Assange's health is so bad he 'could die in prison', say 60 doctors
Revealing stuff that should have been in the public domain all along should be treated as a public service, not a crime. But Julian Assange is rotting in jail, awaiting extradition, at the behest of a government that wants to preserve its grim secrets.
Revealing stuff that should have been in the public domain all along should be treated as a public service, not a crime. But Julian Assange is rotting in jail, awaiting extradition, at the behest of a government that wants to preserve its grim secrets.
SaintsInDome2006
Footballguy
Thing is they had a prior claim on him over the US. I’m guessing he’d rather have gotten tried in Sweden.
ren hoek
Footballguy
What would he have gotten tried for? They never charged him with anything.
He had already been interviewed in Sweden. It wasn't until he got to Britain and found the demands that he return to Sweden to be questioned- we found out years later that British authorities were telling Sweden not to get "cold feet" and keep the pressure on him- that something was off. For all we know he could have been extradited then and there.
It's not incumbent upon Assange to play his cards the exact right way to avoid getting brutally tortured until he dies. It's on the western powers to stand for the values they pretend to believe in. Now he's their political prisoner. The US and Britain's claims to human rights and democratic ideals are a fraud.