‘Precedent’: Julian Assange’s Wife Stella Calls for Reform of the US’ Espionage Act

Jun 26, 2024 | WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s wife Stella Assange says it is in the interest of “all of the press” to reform the Espionage Act in the United States to increase “press protections”. “

Today, we celebrate Julian’s freedom … it is also a day where I hope journalists and editors and publishers everywhere realise the danger of this US case against Julian that criminalises, that has secured a conviction, for newsgathering and publishing information that was in the public interest,” she said.

“That the public deserved to know and that precedent now can and will be used in the future against the rest of the press, so it is in the interest of all of the press to seek for this current state of affairs to change through reform of the Espionage Act, to increase press protections and yes, eventually, when the time comes, not today, a pardon.”

Julian Assange Freed in US Plea Deal, WikiLeaks Says | BBC News

Jun 25, 2024 | After a years-long legal saga, WikiLeaks says that founder Julian Assange has left the UK after reaching a deal with US authorities that will see him plead guilty to criminal charges and go free.

Assange, 52, was charged with conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defence information. For years, the US has argued that the WikiLeaks files - which disclosed information about the Iraq and Afghanistan wars - endangered lives.

Assange spent the last five years in a British prison, from where he was fighting extradition to the US


Related material here.

Assange Agrees to Plead Guilty in Exchange for Release, Ending Standoff With U.S.

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Barring last-minute snags, the deal would bring to an end a prolonged battle that began after the WikiLeaks founder became alternately celebrated and reviled for revealing state secrets in the 2010s.

Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, agreed to plead guilty on Monday to a single felony count of illegally obtaining and disclosing national security material in exchange for his release from a British prison, ending his long and bitter standoff with the United States.

Mr. Assange, 52, was granted his request to appear before a federal judge at one of the more remote outposts of the federal judiciary, the courthouse in Saipan, the capital of the Northern Mariana Islands, according to a brief court filing made public late Monday. He is expected to be sentenced to about five years, the equivalent of the time he has already served in Britain, according to a law enforcement official familiar with the terms of the agreement.

It was a fitting final twist in the case against Mr. Assange, who doggedly opposed extradition to the U.S. mainland. The islands are a United States commonwealth in the middle of the Pacific Ocean — and much closer to Mr. Assange’s native Australia, where he is a citizen, than courts in the continental United States or Hawaii.

Shortly after the deal was disclosed, WikiLeaks said that Mr. Assange had left London. Mr. Assange is scheduled to appear in Saipan at 9 a.m. local time on Wednesday and is expected to fly back to Australia “at the conclusion of the proceedings,” Matthew J. McKenzie, an official in the Justice Department’s counterterrorism division, wrote in a letter to the judge in the case. » | Glenn Thrush and Megan Specia, Glenn Thrush reported from Washington, and Megan Specia from London. | Monday, June 24, 2024

WikiLeaks’ post on X here.

Julian Assange leaves UK after striking deal with US justice department: It is anticipated the WikiLeaks founder will plead guilty to violating US espionage law at a hearing in Saipan and will be allowed to return to Australia »

‘No one should judge’ WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange for accepting deal, Australian MP says: Labor’s Julian Hill says prime minister Anthony Albanese deserves ‘enormous credit’ for pursuing the resolution of Assange’s case »

Britain Approves Extradition of WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange to US | DW News

Jun 17, 2022 • Britain has approved the extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the United States. That's where he's wanted on 18 criminal charges, including spying. Washington says Assange endangered lives by releasing troves of classified military records and diplomatic correspondence. Assange called Friday's decision a "dark day for press freedom and British democracy." He will appeal the decision at London's High Court.

Related here and here.

Julian Assange's Lawyer Reveals How the WikiLeaks Founder Is Coping in Prison | 60 Minutes Australia

Aitor Martinez, Julian Assange's Spanish lawyer, tells 60 Minutes the Australian WikiLeaks founder has been "destroyed" by his time in prison.

The Guardian View on the US Pursuit of Julian Assange: Set Him Free

THE GUARDIAN – EDITORIAL: The attempt to extradite the WikiLeaks founder is an assault on the press freedom that the Biden administration promises to promote

Supporters of Julian Assange gather outside the high court in London on Friday. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Opening his Summit for Democracy this week, Joe Biden urged his guests to “stand up for the values that unite us”, including a free press. The US president boasted of his new initiative for democratic renewal, including measures to support an unfettered and independent media: “It’s the bedrock of democracy. It’s how the public stay informed and how governments are held accountable. And around the world, press freedom is under threat.”

Yet the US government itself is endangering the ability of the media to bring to light uncomfortable truths and expose official crimes and cover-ups. On Friday, the high court ruled that Julian Assange can be extradited to the US, where he could face up to 175 years in prison. The decision is not only a blow for his family and friends, who fear he would not survive imprisonment in the US. It is also a blow for all those who wish to protect the freedom of the press. » | Opinion | Friday, December 10, 2021

Scott Morrison Urged to End ‘Lunacy’ and Push UK and US for Julian Assange’s Release

THE GUARDIAN: Independent MP Andrew Wilkie says UK a ‘lackey’ of US and journalism is not a crime

The Australian prime minister, Scott Morrison, has been urged to advocate for the release of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Photograph: Bianca de Marchi/AAP
Australian parliamentarians have demanded the prime minister, Scott Morrison, intervene in the case of Julian Assange, an Australian citizen, after the United States won a crucial appeal in its fight to extradite the WikiLeaks founder on espionage charges.

“The prime minister must get Assange home,” the Australian Greens leader, Adam Bandt, told Guardian Australia on Saturday.

“An Australian citizen is being prosecuted for publishing details of war crimes, yet our government sits on its hands and does nothing.”

The independent MP Andrew Wilkie called on Morrison to “end this lunacy” and demand the US and UK release Assange. » | Lane Sainty and AAP | Saturday, December 11, 2021

Julian Assange's Fiancée Brands US Extradition Decision 'Cynical'

Dec 10, 2021 • Julian Assange can be extradited to the US, the High Court has ruled as senior judges overturned an earlier decision in the case of the WikiLeaks founder. The US Government won its bid on Friday, but Assange's fiancée Stella Moris said his lawyers intend to appeal against the High Court ruling.

Related.

The US’s poodle does what it has been told to do: it agrees to extradite Julian Assange. Free speech is on its last legs: the truth must never be told. This is the age of “alternative facts” ! »

Die Luft für Julian Assange wird dünner: Laut dem britischen High Court darf Julian Assange nun doch an die USA ausgeliefert werden. Seine Anhänger kündigten zwar eine Berufung an, doch ist offen, wie lange sich der Wikileaks-Gründer dem Zugriff der amerikanischen Justiz noch entziehen kann. »

Julian Assange Can Be Extradited to US to Face Espionage Charges, Court Rules

THE GUARDIAN: Decision overturns previous ruling that Wikileaks co-founder could not be extradited due to mental health concerns

Julian Assange can be extradited to the US, the high court has ruled as it overturned a judgment earlier this year.

The decision today deals a major blow to the Wikileaks co-founder’s efforts to prevent his extradition to the US to face espionage charges, although options to appeal remain open to his legal team. » | Ben Quinn | Friday, December 10, 2021

U.K. Court Rules Julian Assange Can Be Extradited to U.S.: The WikiLeaks founder can still appeal the verdict, which would leave him facing espionage charges that could put him in prison for decades. »

The Plot to Kill Julian Assange: Report Reveals CIA’s Plan to Kidnap, Assassinate WikiLeaks Founder

Sep 28, 2021 • Did the CIA under the Trump administration plan to kidnap and assassinate WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange during a shootout in London? That is one of the explosive findings in a new exposé by Yahoo News that details how the CIA considered abducting and possibly murdering Assange while he took refuge in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London to avoid being extradited to Sweden for rape allegations, charges that were dropped in 2017. More than 30 former officials say former CIA Director Mike Pompeo was apparently motivated to get even with WikiLeaks following its publication of sensitive CIA hacking tools, which the agency considered “the largest data loss in CIA history.” Michael Isikoff, chief investigative correspondent for Yahoo News, lays out the plans and describes how the abduction plan “was one of the most contentious intelligence debates of the entire Trump era,” noting it ultimately spurred the Justice Department to fast-track its legal case against Assange. We also speak with Assange’s legal adviser Jennifer Robinson, who says the latest revelations should alarm American citizens, as well as journalists around the world. “This is the CIA talking about conspiracy to kidnap and murder an Australian citizen and an award-winning journalist and editor who has done nothing but publish truthful information.”

WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange Faces Ruling on Extradition to US

WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange Extradition Blocked by British Judge | DW News

A British judge has ruled that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange cannot be extradited to the United States to face espionage charges. The judge said extradition would be "oppressive" to his mental health. Supporters celebrated the verdict outside the courthouse in central London. Assange would have faced up to 175 years in prison if convicted of violating the US Espionage Act. In 2010, he released thousands of classified US military files online. The Australian was first arrested in Britain ten years ago, and sought asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy for seven years. His lawyers have consistently argued that Assange was acting as a journalist and is entitled to freedom of speech protections.

US Charges WikiLeaks' Julian Assange with Publishing Classified Information

THE GUARDIAN: WikiLeaks founder faces decades in US prison if found guilty ? Assange ‘risked serious harm to US national security’, DoJ says

Julian Assange has been charged with violating the US Espionage Act by publishing classified information through WikiLeaks.

Prosecutors on Thursday unveiled 17 additional charges against Assange, who was previously indicted on a charge of working to hack a Pentagon computer system. » | Jon Swaine in New York | Thursday, May 23, 2019

Democracy Now! US Trying to Make Assange “Suffer” for Publishing Secrets, His Former Lawyer Says

British human rights lawyer Geoffrey Robertson, who formerly represented Julian Assange, says the WikiLeaks founder has made many enemies, including the governments of Ecuador, Australia, the UK and US."

At the end of the day, you come down to the question of free speech, whether it’s right that a publisher who has received information from sources who want it published ... should be jailed and punished for the efforts he’s made on behalf of free speech," says Robertson.

John Pilger: Julian Assange Exposed US' 'Kill Them All' Mentality!

We speak to legendary journalist and film-maker John Pilger who discusses the arrest of Julian Assange after his asylum status was revoked by Lenin Moreno of Ecuador and subsequent removal from the Ecuadorian Embassy. He discusses the importance of Wikileaks’ work, why it is a threat to the United States, the danger the arrest poses to journalists everywhere and the possibility of extradition to the US.

Under arrest: The Future of Julian Assange and WikiLeaks | The Listening Post (Full)

Chomsky: Arrest of Assange Is “Scandalous” and Highlights Shocking Extra-territorial Reach of US

Attorneys for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange are vowing to fight his possible extradition to the United States following his arrest in London, when British police forcibly removed Assange from the Ecuadorean Embassy, where he had taken asylum for almost seven years. On Thursday night, Democracy Now!'s Amy Goodman spoke to Noam Chomsky about Assange's arrest, WikiLeaks and American power.

Julian Assange, WikiLeaks Founder, Is Arrested in London

THE NEW YORK TIMES: LONDON — Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder who released reams of secret documents that embarrassed the United States government, was arrested by the British police on Thursday at the Ecuadorean Embassy in London, where he had lived since 2012, after Ecuador withdrew the asylum it had granted him.

President Lenín Moreno of Ecuador said on Twitter that his country had decided to stop sheltering Mr. Assange after “his repeated violations to international conventions and daily-life protocols,” a decision that cleared the way for the British authorities to detain him.

The relationship between Mr. Assange and Ecuador has been a rocky one, even as it offered him refuge, and WikiLeaks said last Friday that Ecuador “already has an agreement with the UK for his arrest” and predicted that Mr. Assange would be expelled from the embassy “within ‘hours to days.’ ”

Video footage showed a bearded Mr. Assange being taken down the steps of the red brick embassy in the wealthy area of Knightsbridge in central London by several plainclothes police officers and put into a gray police truck that was waiting to take him away. » | Richard Pérez-Peña | Thursday, April 11, 2019

WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange May Be Arrested Soon

All eyes are on the Ecuadorian embassy in London after reports that Wikileaks founder Julian Assange will be kicked out after seven years of asylum. Investigative journalist Ben Swann takes a dive into this situation with RT America’s Sara Montes de Oca.

Noam Chomsky in Conversation with Amy Goodman on Climate Change, Nukes, Syria, WikiLeaks & More