Thread by @StefSimanowitz

1/. COUNTDOWN TO JUSTICE

It is ironic that no one responsible for war crimes in #Afghanistan & #Iraq has been punished

And yet the man who helped exposed these crimes is in the dock

Next month, #JulianAssange will have his final extradition appeal hearing in London. #Assange

2/. Assange created the technology that allowed outsiders to get a glimpse within

If extradited, @wikileaks founder #JulianAssange faces detention conditions that could amount to torture, the possibility of an unfair trial & a sentence of up to 175 years

3/. “Populations don’t like wars. They have to be fooled into wars. Nearly every war that has started in the past 50 years has been a result of media lies” #JulianAssange

Obama opened the investigation

Trump brought charges

Biden admin should drop them

4/. “The US govt is trying to extradite #JulianAssange & put him in prison for the rest of his life for the best work @wikileaks ever did. Work that that won awards in every country”

@Snowden speaking to @joerogan
about #Assange & the #AssangeCase in 2020

5/. “We live in a 'Mediaocracy', where what is politically possible is defined by the media environment. The single greatest contributer to our expanding horizons is you”

#Assange targeted since 2012

@Snowden in Russia since 2013

@xychelsea 7yrs in jail

6/. “Football is great but let’s not forget about #JulianAssange, jailed in England for exposing war crimes.”
#EricCantona (July 2021)

“The worst forces are attacking the greatest virtues." @StellaMoris1 - #Assange’s partner (Sept 2021) #FreeJulianAssange

7/. The CIA rprtdly plotted to kidnap #JulianAssange, & some senior CIA officials & the Trump admini allegedly went so far as to consider options for how to assassinate him👇

@wikileaks has this footage rprtdly of the #Assange "grab team" from Dec 2017.

8/. Reports that the CIA plotted to kidnap/assassinate #Assange (see @kgosztola’s thread👇) comes a month before the resumption of his extradition hearing

If #JulianAssange were to be extradited, it would set a chilling precedent for whistleblowers & public interest journalism👇

9/. COUNTDOWN TO JUSTICE - 30 DAYS

#JulianAssange's appeal hearing is set to take place in ONE MONTH, on 27-28 October

The hearing is likely to run over

@amnesty are calling on:

1. the US to drop the charges against #Assange &;
2. the UK not to extradite him & to #FreeAssange

10/. “A dead man can’t leak”

The idea of kidnapping or assassinating #JulianAssange in London has been advocated openly

See this clip (via @HorvatSrecko) with @HillaryClinton, @JoeBiden @newtgingrich @mikepompeo

CIA plot against #Assange is no surprise!

11/. “If true, this story blows a hole in the US govt’s claim that its attempt to extradite #Assange isn’t politically motivated. We call on @pritipatel to say whether UK security services had any involvement in, or knowledge of, these plans” @NUJofficial
nuj.org.uk/resource/cia-r…

12/. Ystdy, @jlippincott_ asked @mikepompeo about the CIA's alleged plot to assassinate of #Assange

“Don’t believe everything from Yahoo News!” he laughed

The @YahooNews story was based on 30+ intelligence & Trump admin sources

This was Pompeo in 2019.👇

13/. "Those 30 people who allegedly spoke to one of these reporters, they should all be prosecuted for speaking about classified activity inside CIA"

Pompeo calls for prosecution of sources who told journalists about the #Assange kidnap/assassination plot
news.yahoo.com/pompeo-sources…

14/. “I knew we should have whacked that wiseguy years ago!”

US diplomatic assurances not to keep #JulianAssange in a maximum security facility were already inherently unreliable

How far will reports that the CIA conspired to murder #Assange undermine the US prosecution case?

15/. In exactly 3 weeks, the court will sit to decide if #JulianAssange will be extradited

The US are are behaving as if they have jurisdiction all over the world & can pursue any publisher or journalist, criminalizing their critical work & their ability to protect their sources

16/. “No cause is a lost cause if it is a just one” (Eric Levy, 93)

Eric has been at every #Assange hearing & #FreeAssange protest

He was also he one of the Human Shields that went to Iraq in 2003 to try & stop the illegal war & one of the few that stayed throughout Shock & Awe

17/. An Icelandic hacker who was given immunity by the FBI in exchange for testimony against #Assange, has been jailed

In an interview with @stundin earlier this year, he admitted to fabricating statements implicating #JulianAssange

A reliable witness?
stundin.is/grein/14117/so…

18/. Credible reports that the CIA planned to kidnap or kill #JulianAssange together with the arrest of a key prosecution witness, should be taken into account

Charges against #Assange & he should be released

The UK should not extradite him
#FreeAssange

19/. “Looking in the mirror is always hard, especially if such introspection leads to the conclusion that one's ‘democratically’ elected govt regularly engages in terrorism abroad.” #JulianAssange

If you’re a journalist, your job is to hold up the mirror.

20/ Ahead of the extradition appeal verdict @TariqAli_News @DanielEllsberg @jeremycorbyn @Selay_Ghaffar @jeremycorbyn @ApsanaBegumMP @MashiRafael @yanisvaroufakis @SMaurizi etc will put on trial those who have imprisoned #Assange for revealing their crimes
bit.ly/3oUhnp7

21/. “We're not gonna sit in silence”

10 days ‘til #Assange’s extradition appeal verdict

“The ongoing drive by the US to extradite #JulianAssange & prosecute him under the Espionage Act undermines press freedom globally” Robert Mahoney of @pressfreedom.

22/. Twenty-three civil liberties & human rights organisations (@amnestyusa, @PENamerica, @rcfp etc.) appeal to US authorities to drop the prosecution of #JulianAssange in light of reports that the CIA plotted to kidnap & assassinate the @wikileaks founder google.co.uk/amp/s/news.yah…

23/. “We the undersigned press freedom, civil liberties, & intn’l human rights advocacy organizations, write to share our profound concern about the ongoing criminal & extradition proceedings relating to @wikileaks founder #JulianAssange”

@ACLU & 22 orgs
indexoncensorship.org/2021/10/letter…

24/. “It's important to remember what the #JulianAssange case is really about” @suigenerisjen (2020)

It is about @wikileaks' publication of of US military reports from the Afghanistan & Iraq wars which exposed human rights abuses, corruption & wars crimes

25/. Thomas Paine - charged with sedition in 1792 - writes:

“If, to expose the fraud & imposition of monarchy...to promote universal peace & civilization...& to extirpate the horrid practice of war...if these things be libellous...let the name of libeller be engraved on my tomb”

26/. “Julian Assange’s freedoms are tie to all our freedoms & they are freedoms that can be lost in the blink of an eye...Free Julian. Free the press.
Free us all” @StellaMoris1

On Wednesday, @amnesty will be at the High Court. #JulianAssange #FreeAssange

27/. “If we can only live once, then let it be a daring adventure that draws on all our powers.

Perhaps as an old man I’ll accept suffering with insouciance.

But not now.

Men in their prime, if they have convictions, are tasked to act on them.” #Assange

28/. This week, #JulianAssange's appeal hearing is expected to consider five grounds of appeal by the US, including the reliability of assurances offered by the US after a lower UK court ruled against #Assange’s extradition

@amnesty believe that these assurances are unreliable.

29/. #BREAKING: Ahead of this week’s appeal hearing against the decision by a UK court not to extradite #JulianAssange to the USA, @amnesty’s head, @AgnesCallamard, calls on US authorities to drop the charges against him & on UK authorities to release him. amnesty.org/en/latest/news…

30/. “It’s a damning indictment that 20 years on, virtually no one responsible for alleged US war crimes committed in the course of the Afghanistan & Iraq wars has been held accountable, yet a publisher who exposed such crimes is facing a lifetime in jail” google.co.uk/amp/s/www.inde…

31/. If extradited, #Assange might face detention conditions that could amount to torture as well as the possibility of an unfair trial

It would also set a chilling precedent re protection of those who publish classified information in the public interest. #DontExtraditeAssange

32/. "The goal is justice, the method is transparency. It's important not to confuse the goal & the method." - #JulianAssange

Powerful essay written by @Scottludlam on the fight to #FreeAssange & the dangerous precedent #Assange’s extradition would set. themonthly.com.au/issue/2021/aug…

33/. It’s almost the end of the day & @amnesty are STILL awaiting news as to whether our trial observer will be granted access to #Assange appeal hearing tmw

I understand other NGO’s & journalists are also still waiting

Last year, our observer was barred
google.co.uk/amp/s/www.news…

34/. UPDATE: Our @amnesty legal observer has just been granted access to tmw’s #Assange hearing

Journalists DM me for interviews

“They hang the man & flog the woman
Who steals the goose from off the common
Yet let the greater villain loose
That steals the common from the goose”

35/. “More than 200 years after Thomas Paine was charged with libellous sedition for publishing The Rights of Man, govts still endeavour to suppress damning information & target those responsible for exposing it.”

Pl us ça change!
#Assange #FreeAssangeNOW
amnesty.org/en/latest/news…

36/. In August @johnpilger told me that he thought Julian #Assange “will walk free in October because the case is so overwhelming in his favour in terms of real law & natural justice”

That was before the @YahooNews story of the CIA plot to kidnap/assassinate Assange had come out

37/. The countdown is over

The UK High Court is about begin its two-day consideration of the US govt’s appeal against the extradition decision in the case of @wikileaks publisher, Julian #Assange

Our @amnesty legal expert is observing proceedings & providing live updates below.

38/. A security van arrives at the Royal Courts of Justice

Photographers gather round thinking that Julian #Assange might be arriving from Belmarsh high security prison

It is likely that Assange will not be present but will instead appear by video link

39/. Julian #Assange’s partner @StellaMoris1 says that #JulianAssange will not be appearing in court today

Instead he will have to appear via video from Belmarsh high security prison. #FreeAssange

40/. “How can he interact with his lawyers from prison?

How can this be justice in any form when he is deprived of being present in the court where his life is being decided?”

@wikileaks’ @khrafnsson responds to news that Julian #Assange will appear by video link. #FreeAssange

41/. Julian #Assange is not feeling well enough to follow proceedings today

He was meant to watch via video link from a room at Belmarsh prison

The CPS has just begun presenting the US govt’s appeal against the decision not to extradite #Assange

The defence will present tmw.

42/. Although the court was informed by #JulianAssange’s legal team that he was not feeling well enough to watch proceedings, #Assange is now in the room at Belmarsh prison following via video link

Outside, yellow #FreeAssange ribbons have been tied to the railings of the Court.

43/. “Assurances by US authorities that they would not subject #Assange to abusive special administrative measures, including prolonged solitary confinement, have been discredited by their admission that they reserved the right to reverse those guarantees” aljazeera.com/opinions/2021/…

44/. “Those assurances are not assurances at all” @amnesty’s @JuliaHall18

The US govt say: “the US retains the power to impose #SAMs [Special Administrative Measures] on Mr. #Assange” & “the US retains the power to designate Mr. Assange to #ADX [Florence]”

ADX = Supermax prison

45/. The implications of #Assange’s case go far beyond this courtroom

If extradition were granted it would set a dangerous precedent & have a
chilling effect on journalists & others who expose official wrongdoing by publishing information disclosed to them by credible sources.

46/. The #AssangeCase has broken for lunch

His legal team - together with Julian #Assanges’s father, John Shipton, @wikileaks’ @khrafnsson & @RSF_inter’s @rebecca_vincent - come out of the court to update the crowd on the mornings proceedings. #FreeAssange #FreeAssangeNOW

47/. “Julian appeared over video link...He’s in a terrible state. He’s extremely thin...It’s a special type of cruelty to have to sit through today.”

Julian #Assange’s fiancé, @StellaMoris1, talking about the #AssangeCase during break for lunch
#FreeAssange #DontExtraditeAssange

48/. “Our laws have to mean something & if they mean something, they should mean that Julian #Assange cannot be extradited”

#JulianAssange’s fiancé, @StellaMoris1, who tells the crowd outside the #AssangeCase that “extraditing him would be tantamount to killing him” #FreeAssange

49/. “It is surreal to hear the lawyers acting on behalf of the US govt trying to stretch the interpretation of the law.

Assurances they’re offering regarding Julian #Assange’s treatment if extradited have been judged worthless by @amnesty”
@wikileaks @khrafnsson at #AssangeCase

50/. “If the US is successful today, journalists around the world will have to look over their shoulders if they are publishing information that is detrimental to US interests”

@amnesty’s Simon Crowther on why the #AssangeCase is so important for freedom of expression. #Assange

51/. “If you stand for press freedom, then you stand for Julian #Assange...This whole case is really an attack on press freedom.”

A young woman, @3dom4assange, tells me why she has come to demonstrate outside the #AssangeCase.

#FreeAssange #JulianAssange #DontExtraditeAssange

52/. “Recent bombshell reports that the CIA considered kidnapping or killing #Assange while he was holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy have cast more doubt on the reliability of US promises & further expose the political motivation behind this case” I tell @AJEnglish’s @NadimJBaba

53/. “The greatest contribution of the English speaking peoples was to erect a shield of law btw the people & the state: Magna Carta. This shield is crushed beneath an avalanche of misdeeds in this case against Julian #Assange”

John Shipton, #JulianAssange’s father #FreeAssange

54/. “There still seems to be confusion among the public & in some newsrooms as to why we defend #JulianAssange

We defend #Assange for his contribution to journalism

I call on journalists everywhere to act now. Ac before it is too late” @RSF_inter head @cdeloire at #AssangeCase

55/. “I am a strong supporter of Julian #Assange because I firmly believe in the importance of investigative journalism in a civil society”

Good to see @aiww at the #AssangeCase today

After all: “Everything is art. Everything is politics”
#FreeAssange #DontExtraditeAssange

56/. Asked about the strategic implications for Australia’s strategic relationship with US if “diplomatic assistance” were provided to #Assange, FM @MarisePayne said: “I’ve provided the assistance that I'm able to”

In UK, no questions were asked at #PMQs

57/. I’m back at the High Court for the second day of the US appeal against the decision not to extradite Julian #Assange

For updates & analysis FOLLOW
@kgosztola
@SMaurizi
@johnpilger
@ChipGibbons89
@MElmaazi
@richimedhurst
@rebecca_vincent
@jlpassarelli
@ryangrim
@StellaMoris1

58/. “Assurances given by the US about how they will treat Julian #Assange if he was to be extradited are not worth the paper they’re written on”

“Today we expect the defence to raise reports that the CIA plotted to kidnap or assassinate #JulianAssange”
@amnesty’s Simon Crowther

59/. “We live in a world of peace when those in power are held to account...#JulianAssange has held the world’s leaders to account. They found it too uncomfortable. That is why he’s in Belmarsh prison.” @jeremycorbyn calls for #Assange not to be extradited to the US.
#FreeAssange

60/. “Julian #Assange told us the truth about Afghanistan & Iraq & is facing life imprisonment. Those who started these wars are still walking the streets, telling us it was a good idea.”

Former @UKLabour leader, @jeremycorbyn, on the #AssangeCase.
#FreeAssange #FreeAssangeNOW

61/. If a country has to give assurances that they won’t torture someone, it’s a clear indication that there’s a problem with that country’s human rights record

@amnesty’s Simon Crowther explains why #Assange shouldn’t be extradited & why US diplomatic assurances are worthless.

62/. #JulianAssange’s fiancé @StellaMoris1 leaves the court with @khrafnsson (@wikileaks) & @rebecca_vincent (@rsf)

They will update the crowd of #Assange supporters on this morning’s proceedings in the #Assangecase & grab some lunch ahead of the final afternoon session.

63/. John Shipton, Julian #Assange’s father, gives a potted summary of this morning’s proceedings

This afternoon, will focus on "assurances" from the US govt & perhaps address revelations on the CIA's targeting of @wikileaks & their alleged plans to kidnap or kill Assange.

64/. “Would you trust the people who planned your assassination to keep you safe?”

This afternoon, it’s expected the court will be asked to take into consideration the @YahooNews reports that the CIA plotted to kill #Assange.

@OwenJones84 & @HorvatSrecko

66/. #BREAKING: A few dozen people protesting at the treatment of #JulianAssange have blocked one side of the road outside the Royal Courts of Justice

They have parked a car across the Strand & are also lying/sitting in the street

The police are monitoring
#AssangeCase #Assange

67/. Wow! The #Assange hearing just tipped into legal equivalent of a bare-knuckle brawl

In a British court, when a lawyer says: “With great respect some of the incorrect statements are really not conducive to the proper solution of these issues", the gloves are well & truly off

68/. Bombshell report that the CIA plotted to assassinate Julian #Assange must be properly investigated

#JulianAssange’s defence team argue powerfully that the case must be sent back to the lower court

@amnesty’s Simon Crowther sums up the two day hearing.
#DontExtraditeAssange

69/. “This US extradition case against Julian #Assange has been falling apart from the moment it started because it was born rotten.”

#JulianAssange’s fiancée, @StellaMoris1, speaking at conclusion of the High Court hearing.

It could take several weeks for the judges to decide.

70/. “If the US is successful, it will have alarming implications for #pressfreedom. This case isn’t just about the rights of #Assange, it is about the rights of every journalist to do their jobs & the rights of the public to access information.”
@rebecca_vincent of @RSF_inter