Set to (online) attend The Belmarsh Tribunal hosted by @ProgIntl: with @Stella_Assange @yanisvaroufakis @MaryKostakidis @bobjcarr @BridgetArcherMP @suigenerisjen & others calling for release of Julian Assange cc @CroakeyNews 
FYI from @ProgIntl: Belmarsh Tribunal is inspired by the Russell-Sartre Tribunals of the Vietnam War, brings together a range of expert witnesses — lawyers, journalists, MPs, union officials, whistleblowers and human rights defenders — to press for Assange's release
cc @CroakeyNews
Journalist Mark Davis says "endlessly recycled lie" that Assange did not redact names from the Afghan War Logs has caused him "incalculable damage", urges audience to call out the claim when they hear it.
"It is long past the time for Julian Assange to be freed and to come home", says journalist Kerry O'Brien, noting we will be able to judge the "true nature" of Australia's status in its alliance with the US on its representations and the US response.
Prime Minister Albanese has said "enough is enough" about the prosecution of Julian Assange, but we don't know if he has spoken directly to Biden, or to the US Ambassador, nor "the strength of his intervention". Kerry O'Brien.
Daniel Ellsberg was vilified when he leaked the Pentagon Papers but now recognised as a hero...how will history reflect on Assange, asks @suigenerisjen, says the Freedom of the Press Foundation has called Assange's prosecution the most terrifying threat to free speech in the 21C"
"When they say he will be treated fairly, it's a lie," says former CIA analyst John Kiriakou talking about the risks for Assange in the US judicial & prison systems, warning whistleblowers are being held in prison units designed for serious terrorists thedissenter.org/drone-whistleb…
Former Reuters Baghdad bureau chief Dean Yates talking about the horrific truths revealed by the WikiLeaks Collateral Murder video theguardian.com/us-news/2020/j…
Collateral Murder is "pure truth telling": Dean Yates says the video is not included in the indictment against Assange because it would expose the hypocrisy of the case against him.
Dean Yates appeals directly to PM Albanese: Assange faces 175 yrs in prison for revealing war crimes while those responsible not been held to account. "Watch Collateral Murder and then bring Julian home," he urges, saying the real criminals are the architects of the invasion.
Former Foreign Minister Bob Carr asks what might be the reaction to Julian Assange's prosecution if it was not US "extra territorial reach" but that of China, India or Myanmar. #BelmarshTribunal
Bob Carr says PM Albanese should simply say to US President Biden: "Assange has suffered enough. Let's drop this now." It would be impossible for anyone in the US to rebut, including because Chelsea Manning has been set free but Assange still being pursued. #BelmarshTribunal
. @PercyKaren says prosecution of Julian Assange is "fundamentally an issue of press freedom", and she outlines the chilling effect now being had on journalists in Australia by thousands of provisions in our laws, partic national security but many others.
"Anything that stops a journalist from doing her work is a threat to press freedom": @PercyKaren says this week's press freedom meeting with @MarkDreyfusKCMP was encouraging "but there is a long list of change that needs to happen... to ensure the right to know is not impeded".
"As a doctor I can speak to the psychological and physical effects of prolonged detention," says @Mon4Kooyong, who describes the victimisation of Assange as "extreme" and commits to continuing to urge his freedom and hold the govt to account.
. @DavidShoebridge talking about outstanding cases of whistle-blowing in Australia , where the only prosecutions have been of the whistleblowers - this needs to be part of the discussion about Julian Assange, the "global chill" amplified here in Australia. #BelmarshTribunal
. @DavidShoebridge says there is hope in Parliament, a large and growing Parliamentary Friends of Julian Assange, from all sides of politics. But the challenge remains, as we see from persecution of whistleblowers, to move govts from addiction to secrecy, supine r'ship with US.
. @MaryKostakidis reads a statement from former US military pilot Dan Duggan: "when truth becomes illegal...we must collectively stand and say 'no' or risk losing the very sovereignty of our souls".
smh.com.au/politics/feder…
smh.com.au/politics/feder…
Politicians from across the divide declaring "enough is enough" at #BelmarshTribunal. @BridgetArcherMP says the ongoing prosecution, indeed persecution, of Assange "does not serve the interests of justice", notes the case is "inherently political".
Whistle blower Bernard Collaery says it is v clear that Julian Assange is not a prisoner facing genuine judicial processes - "it's clear he fits precisely the international definition of a hostage". #BelmarshTribunal
"Don’t leave an awful blemish on your legacy”. Message to PM Albanese re Assange from whistleblower Bernard Collaery, who notes that awful blemish on Gough Whitlam’s career from his tacit agreement re the occupation of East Timor.
Bernard Collaery talks about the restrictions still on him despite charges being dropped by this govt: "it’s not over in this country," he says, calling out complicit bureaucrats and saying the Robodebt inquiry should be "just the beginning".
Passionate words from whistleblower David McBride: "Julian Assange is a POW in a civil war. His country is not so much Australia, his country is truth, his country is law. He is being pursued by people whose country is lies and greed."
Hearing from former diplomat Alison Broinowski, who puts Qs to PM Albanese: asks if he has considered (or been advised to do so) diplomatic protection under customary int'al law, taking Assange’s case to European Court of Human Rights or invoking the Convention Against Torture.
See also Alison Broinowski's piece: What our media don’t tell us: Has the D-Notice returned? johnmenadue.com/what-our-media…
. @KMooreGilbert calls on the Australian Govt to show the same "resoluteness" it did in securing her release from an Iranian prison
Final #BelmarshTribunal speaker is @Stella_Assange who also appeals directly to @AlboMP saying Australia has leverage with the US because of China: "The PM, more than anyone, holds Julian’s fate in his hands."
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