Today the case to extradite Assange resumes - the most brazen and consequential assault on the press of our lifetimes: a Govt is prosecuting a publisher for exposing it's crimes. Many have asked us to make a new Honest Government Ad about it, but this one is sadly still current
None of the criminals behind the murderous war in Iraq and Agfhanistan have been so much as prosecuted, let alone punished. But the publisher who exposed their cimes is facing a lifetime in jail. (Are you comfortable with that?)
Bear in mind that Assange is being prosecuted for doing what national security journalists do on a regular basis: collaborating with sources to obtain and publish documents in the public interest. Also known as: GOOD JOURNALISM
Moreover, if the US Govt succeeds in winning its case to extradite Assange to the USA it will be the first time the Espionage Act has been used against a publisher who is not an American citizen. Are you okay for the US Govt set this precedent?
The British Govt and judiciary are happy to: the way the've conducted this case has been a travesty of justice. So whether or not this extradition is allowed will depend on how loudly we all stand up to defend the right of publishers worldwide to expose Government shitfuckery.
Many have asked us to make a new Honest Government Ad to help people understand the situation. But really nothing much has changed: the US Govt has produced no new evidence to justify extraditing Assange - so our last HGA is pretty much still current.
The only that *has* changed is that a publisher has been imprisoned in a maximum security cell without access to his lawyers for over a year since we made this video.
Sorry about typos, fkn monday and only one coffee what am I doing. #FreeAssange
A couple of extra notes, for those who have concerns about Assange:
1. "I don't support Assange because he's an asshole." He might be to you but not liking a journalist/publisher isn't a good reason not to defend them from prosecution.
1. "I don't support Assange because he's an asshole." He might be to you but not liking a journalist/publisher isn't a good reason not to defend them from prosecution.
2. "Assange isn't a journalist". He's won many awards including the Walkley for outstanding contribution to journalism. Besides there is no "license" to be a journalist. Denying Assange is a publisher is Bullshit 101 and it's sad so many people are falling for this line of attack
3. "Fuck WikiLeaks they helped elect Trump". WL helped the public understand what a piece of shit Hillary Clinton was, which no doubt harmed her election prospects. But speaking as someone who would rather have seen Trump lose in 2016 I don't see that as the fault of WikiLeaks...
It's the fault of Clinton/the DNC for being a piece of shit. Refusing to defend a publisher from prosecution because you don't like the (true) information they published is not a good argument and plays straight into the hands of those waging war on our press freedom (see Pt 1)
4 "I don't defend Assange bc he might be a rapist." I respect this is hard for many as sexual assault is far too often dismissed. But the reason the Swedish case didn't take place is bc Assange feared extradition to the US if he went there, a fear which has now been justified...
I do believe Assange should answer to this when he's able to do safely - and I believe he is keener than anyone to have the chance to clear his name in law. But all this has zero bearing on the extradition case, which is about prosecuting Assange for his journalistic activities
Now that we've acknowledged all that, let's focus on the issue at hand: defending a publisher from being prosecuted by the US Government for exposing that government's war crimes 👍
"It would be a criminal act on the part of the British Government to accede to the US demand for extradition [of Julian Assange]" -- Noam Chomsky, Sept 5, 2020
