The Assange Defense Committee is a national coalition fighting to free WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.
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Feb 21 • 116 tweets • 21 min read
Day 2 of 2 in Julian Assange's final UK bid to appeal his extradition begins shortly. We'll provide updates on this thread.
Yesterday's arguments from the defense:
-Politicized prosecution is barred by the Extradition Treaty
-Unprecedented prosecution of a publisher
-Exposing crimes is in the public interest
-Assange couldn’t get a fair trial in the US
Julian Assange's two-day hearing at the UK High Court begins today, as a two-judge panel will listen to arguments as to whether Assange should be allowed to appeal his extradition on the grounds that his prosecution is politicized and unprecedented and would prevent a fair trial.
Court is scheduled to open at 10:30am London time (5:30am U.S. east coast). Read here for more detail on what to expect at this week's hearing: assangedefense.org/hearing-covera…
Jan 19, 2022 • 8 tweets • 4 min read
PRESS RELEASE: Thousands Sign Petition Supporting Assange ow.ly/L1i450Hyj3z
Led by @UNACPeace, more than 26 antiwar groups and 2,500 individual peace and justice advocates have cosponsored a statement calling for the immediate release of publisher Julian Assange and commending him for his contributions toward global peace.
Today is the defense’s turn, after yesterday lawyers for the U.S. attempted to undermine a renowned psychiatrist, admitted its prison assurances are “conditional,” and tried to downplay how harsh Assange’s US conditions would be.
Our full report on yesterday's proceedings is here: assangedefense.org/hearing-covera…
Court has begun. Julian Assange doesn’t feel well and won’t be appearing by video link today. #FreeAssange
James Lewis QC discussing housekeeping items with the 2-judge panel, dividing argument time between the defense today and tomorrow.
Aug 11, 2021 • 28 tweets • 9 min read
Court is scheduled to start in just over 10 minutes for Julian Assange's preliminary appeal hearing. Here's what today's proceedings will cover: assangedefense.org/hearing-covera…
Court is in session in US v Assange. Ed Fitzgerald arguing for the defense, Clair Dobbin for the prosecution. Julian appears to be participating from Belmarsh via remote video.
Jan 6, 2021 • 33 tweets • 5 min read
Two days after his extradition was denied, Julian Assange is back in court requesting bail. The US, appealing the ruling, wants him to remain in jail. We're covering the bail hearing now and will report here: #AssangeCaseassangedefense.org/hearing-covera…
Prosecutor Clair Dobbin, acting for the US government, is arguing to keep Assange in bail. She said judge's ruling, which is based on Assange's mental health, "hangs by a single thread" and must be debated on appeal.
Day 18: Julian Assange's resumed extradition hearing. Expecting final witness statements today. #AssangeCase
Defense is explaining to the judge that the parties need a little more time to agree to 2 witnesses' statements, then give an update on the Spanish case (Embassy spying), then make a final submission on the additions to the latest indictment.
Sep 30, 2020 • 51 tweets • 9 min read
Day 17: Julian Assange's resumed extradition hearing. We expect multiple witness statements will be read aloud this morning, and then Guantanamo Bay prison expert @GuantanamoAndy will be called in the afternoon session. #AssangeCase
Defense is reading from/summarizing a witness statement from war reporter Patrick Cockburn. He was in Kabul when the war logs were released and he says they confirmed civilian casualties he and other journalists suspected.
Sep 29, 2020 • 84 tweets • 12 min read
Day 16 of Julian Assange's extradition hearing thread. Today we'll have more testimony on prison conditions in the U.S. and what it would mean to send Assange there. #AssangeCase
Today we'll first have remote testimony from Maureen Baird, a former warden at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York. Baird has testified in other extradition cases about the inhumane conditions of US prisons and the inability to keep prisoners safe.
Sep 28, 2020 • 107 tweets • 16 min read
Day 15 of Julian Assange's extradition hearing and the beginning of the last week of testimony. See all of our daily #AssangeCase reports collected here: assangedefense.org/live-blog/
Today we expect testimony from Joel Sickler and Yancey Ellis, on the prison conditions Assange would face pre- and post-trial in the United States if he is extradited.
Sep 25, 2020 • 82 tweets • 11 min read
Day 14: Julian Assange's extradition hearing. Today we expect testimony from Patrick Eller, digital forensics expert, on the computer crime charge and the alleged agreement between Assange & Chelsea Manning to crack a password in 2010. #AssangeCase
Mark Summers for the defense says the prosecution provided its bundle for Eller, challenging claims in his statements, at 11:30pm last night. He has gotten up at 5:00am to testify and has had about 5 minutes to review these documents... Defense asks for an hour for him to review.
Sep 24, 2020 • 69 tweets • 11 min read
Day 13: Julian Assange's extradition hearing. Expecting more medical testimony today, from Dr. Blackwood and Dr. Sondra Crosby. #AssangeCase
The prosecution calls Dr Blackwood to the stand, just sworn in now, consultant forensic psychiatrist with the NHS. He's made a report for this case, prosecutor James Lewis is taking him through it now
Sep 23, 2020 • 81 tweets • 11 min read
Day 12: Julian Assange's extradition hearing thread. We expect more medical testimony today from Australian psychiatrist Paul Mullen. #AssangeCase
Potentially more sensitive material will be discussed today that we may summarize rather than describe in detail for reasons of privacy. Court has commenced, the parties are talking about evidence that goes to Assange's suicidal ideation in Belmarsh.
Sep 22, 2020 • 84 tweets • 12 min read
Day 11: Julian Assange's extradition hearing thread. Today we'll hear testimony from Professor Michael Kopelman, who is being sworn in live in court right now. #AssangeCase
Dr Kopelman is Emeritus Professor of Neuropsychiatry at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London
Sep 21, 2020 • 100 tweets • 12 min read
Day 10: live tweets from Julian Assange's extradition hearing in London. #AssangeCase
First up today is Prof. Christian Grothoff, testifying by remote video on the publication of the unredacted cables, being sworn in now.
Sep 18, 2020 • 149 tweets • 20 min read
Day 9: Julian Assange's extradition hearing thread. This morning's witness is Nicholas Hager, a New Zealand journalist with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. #AssangeCase
Hager reported on New Zealand cables in the WikiLeaks files. Says leaked classified documents are essential to journalism
Sep 17, 2020 • 118 tweets • 19 min read
Day 8: Julian Assange's extradition hearing. Today we expect testimony from Carey Shenkman, human rights attorney and expert on the Espionage Act, and John Sloboda, from Iraq Body Count. #AssangeCase
Yesterday we heard from Dan Ellsberg, on his experience under the Espionage Act:
"I did not have a fair trial, no one since me had a fair trial on these charges, and Julian Assange cannot remotely get a fair trial under those charges if he were tried.”
Day 7: Julian Assange's extradition hearing thread. We're expecting testimony from John Goetz, Der Spiegel journalist who worked with WikiLeaks in 2010, and Daniel Ellsberg, Pentagon Papers whistleblower. #AssangeCase
Yesterday's report on testimony from defense attorneys Eric Lewis and Thomas Durkin, testifying about Trump's politicized prosecution and the conditions Assange would face in the US: assangedefense.org/live-blog-entr…
Sep 15, 2020 • 157 tweets • 22 min read
Julian Assange's extradition hearing, day 6 thread. We expect to see more testimony from @Reprieve attorney Eric Lewis today. #AssangeCase
Yesterday's report: Eric Lewis: Julian Assange shouldn’t be extradited, would face solitary confinement in the United States
