Many mainstream rights groups and media organizations have a mixed history when it comes to opposing Washington’s agenda. The case of Julian Assange has been no exception.
Amnesty International’s Europe Director described the hearings against Assange as an “assault on the right to freedom of expression” that would have a “chilling effect on media freedom.”
Having reported the long, epic ordeal of Julian Assange, John Pilger gave this address outside the Central Criminal Court in London on September 7 as the WikiLeaks Editor’s extradition hearing entered its final stage.
When I first met Julian Assange more than ten years ago, I asked him why he had started WikiLeaks. He replied: “Transparency and accountability are moral issues that must be the essence of public life and journalism.” I had never heard a publisher or an editor invoke morality in this way. Assange believes that journalists are the agents of
“I have never in my career faced so much difficulty attempting to trial monitor as in Julian Assange’s case.” — Rebecca Vincent, Director of International Campaigns for Reporters Without Borders.
There were bizarre scenes at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London today, as the extradition process of Wikileaks co-founder Julian Assange (present via videophone from Belmarsh prison) was again delayed. Proceedings were held up this morning so Assange could converse for the first time in five months with his legal team. The prosecution team
Assange’s treatment in the UK’s Belmarsh Prison has been so poor that convicted murderers and other high-security inmates had to stage a mass protest to secure his transfer to the hospital wing.
Manning was confined for 365 days or one year after being held in civil contempt because she refused to testify before a grand jury empaneled to investigate WikiLeaks.
Shadowproof -- Federal judge Anthony Trenga ordered a jail in Alexandria, Virginia, to release United States Army whistleblower Chelsea Manning. The order came after the grand jury investigating WikiLeaks was dismissed. Manning was confined for 365 days or one year after being held in civil
Senator Ron Wyden and Representative Ro Khanna introduced a bill to reform the Espionage Act, the archaic piece of legislation used to prosecute Julian Assange and other Whistleblowers.
Shadowproof -- Under legislation proposed in Congress, the United States government would not be able to prosecute journalists like WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange who publish classified
