If “Western Values” make sense, Assange should not be extradited

“Free Julian Assange!”, a dozen people shout incessantly in front of the High Court in London, while a two-day hearing on the case of the founder of WikiLeaks has been taking place in the British capital since Tuesday. The 52-year-old faces extradition to the United States, a prison sentence of up to 175 years and, in the worst case scenario, even the death penalty. The Australian's life is now in the hands of just two judges: Victoria Sharp and Justice Johnson, president of the King's Bench Division.

Since yesterday there has also been a white tent in front of the church of St. Clement Danes, a few meters from the Victorian courthouse. A small stage was set up in front. Many have come to London to ask for Assange's release also because there is more at stake than Assange's life: there is also freedom of speech and investigative journalism.

“We are the Resistance!” shouts Davide Dormino from the stage and receives applause from the now soaked audience. The Italian artist first came into contact with the revelation platform WikiLeaks more than ten years ago and has since then also used his art to promote the release of the Australian activist. “Assange taught us that our imagination can influence reality,” Dormino told the Berliner Zeitung . “He imagined a different world, to be improved, and with WikiLeaks he allowed us to control our critical minds,” explains the Roman artist. It's the only weapon we have to defend ourselves.

On Tuesday, Assange's defense lawyers, Edward Fitzgerald and Mark Summers, argued for about six hours in Courtroom 5. According to them, the entire trial is "politically motivated" and therefore extradition to the United States would be illegal. The indictment of the United States under the Espionage Act, a law written during the First World War, therefore during a global war event, leaves no doubt. Once in the United States, Assange has no chance of a fair trial.

Extradition itself would constitute a violation of the 2003 extradition treaty between the United States and Great Britain, Fitzgerald said. The lawyer explains that there is clear evidence that the kidnapping and murder of the activist was also discussed in White House circles.

The lawyer was referring to a Yahoo News article that caused a sensation in September 2021. Such plans emerged during the Trump administration under the then head of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Mike Pompeo. “This should be enough to bring down the whole process,” WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Kristinn Hrafnsson said in a speech shortly after the first day of hearings.

However, political reasons may push towards extradition: Rishi Sunak's British government is weak, so far it has shown minimal, almost non-existent, autonomy compared to the Biden government. When he separated from it, it was only because the US president's actions are conditioned by the Republican majority in the House and therefore, on issues such as Ukraine or the Middle East, he is unable to show a clear position.

A pure and simple question of freedom

Julian Assange did not steal secrets: he published the news passed on to him by his informants, and they were serious news, of public misconduct that caused many deaths, or of unspeakable abuses of power. Assange's extradition would be a perhaps fatal blow to freedom of speech and what little serious journalism remains. Frankly, if the leak has done anything to the US security apparatus, the fault lies with those running that system, not Assage. The concept of "Wistleblower", of those who internally report the illegitimate behavior of superiors, is one of the foundations of democracy and must be protected.

We cannot make Navalny's death heroic in Russia and extradite, then condemn, perhaps to death, Julian Assange. You can't ask for freedom of speech only when it's convenient. At a certain point we must put aside the hypocrisy of certain Western governments and have the courage to always defend the famous principles, or these principles are worth nothing.

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The article If “Western Values” Make Sense, Assange Should Not Be Extradited comes from Economic Scenarios .

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This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/se-i-valori-occidentali-hanno-senso-assange-non-deve-essere-estradato/ on Thu, 22 Feb 2024 10:08:11 +0000.