On 26 June, Wikileaks founder Julian Assange walked free from a US court on the Western Pacific island of Saipan, halfway between Japan to the north and Papua New Guinea to the south.
He had been released on bail from Belmarsh prison in London two days earlier as part of complicated plea deal negotiated by Australia, the US and Britain.
In Saipan, Assange pleaded guilty to one count of espionage and was given a sentence of ‘time served’, given his five years’ imprisonment in…
Julian Assange has won another chance to appeal against extradition to the US on espionage charges, but he is not out of danger.
The high court in London gave Assange his legal victory on 20 May, after finding that the US government had not given strong enough guarantees or ‘assurances’ that Assange would not be mistreated.
Assange’s lawyers accepted one assurance, that he will not be subjected to the death penalty if convicted in the US.
However, the US government did…
Don’t Extradite Assange (DEA) is still recruiting people for a mass protest at 9am at the high court in Central London on ‘Day X’, when Julian Assange faces his last chance in a British court to stop his extradition to the US for exposing US war crimes. He could face up to 175 years in prison.
Meanwhile, on 8 November, 16 Democratic and Republican members of the US congress wrote to US president Joe Biden asking him to withdraw the US extradition request against Assange.
The…
On a scraggy patch of land we stake our claim -
this country's ours, not terrain of the owners -
and string up banners, raise placards that name
a wrong so grievous it has shown us
that the courts of justice are courts of disgrace
with judges so corrupt they take their cue
from whispered briefings designed to erase
all sense of fairness - take a bow, yes you,
Emma Arbuthnot, Vanessa Baraitser,
bewigged and wooden, reeling off…
Don’t Extradite Assange (DEA) is recruiting people for a mass protest at 9am at the high court in Central London on ‘Day X’, when Julian Assange faces his last chance in a British court to stop his extradition to the US for exposing US war crimes. He could face up to 175 years in prison.
The mobilisation for Day X has included a virtual rally in the metaverse on 26 August, addressed by avatars of Assange and Jeremy Corbyn among others, and a ‘Big Bike Ride for Assange’ on 23 September…
Julian Assange’s legal battle in the UK hit a roadblock on 6 June after high court judge Jonathan Swift rejected an appeal against his extradition to the US.
That left just one option in the UK legal system: Assange put in another request to the high court, appealing to a panel of two judges .
The International Federation of Journalists said: ‘The US government must drop all charges against him and close the case. If Assange goes to jail, no journalist on earth will be safe.’…
The day before the coronation, Julian Assange invited Charles III to visit him: ‘I implore you, King Charles, to visit His Majesty’s Prison Belmarsh, for it is an honour befitting a king.'
Why not write Julian a postcard? Maybe something you’ve done to support his campaign? His address: Mr Julian Assange,
Prisoner #A9379AY, HMP Belmarsh, Western Way, London SE28 0EB. https://www.dontextraditeassange.com
People around the world continue to campaign against the extradition of Julian Assange to the US , where he faces a 175-year sentence for publishing truthful information in the public interest – US government documents revealing US war crimes in Afghanistan and Iraq.
On 20 January, campaigners in the US held ‘The Belmarsh Tribunal’, an online event bringing together a range of expert witnesses – from constitutional lawyers to acclaimed journalists and human rights defenders – to…
Thousands of people came to London from across the UK and around the world on 8 October to create a human chain around the Houses of Parliament, calling for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to be freed.
The demonstration was called by Don’t Extradite Assange (DEA), which campaigns for freedom for Julian Assange, currently in Belmarsh Prison awaiting extradition to the US to face conspiracy charges for publishing secret documents revealing US war crimes in Afganistan and Iraq.
…
WikiLeaks editor and publisher Julian Assange is facing a 175-year sentence for publishing truthful information in the public interest.
Julian Assange is being sought by the current US administration for publishing US government documents which exposed war crimes and human rights abuses. The politically-motivated charges represent an unprecedented attack on press freedom and the public’s right to know – seeking to criminalise basic journalistic activity.
If convicted Julian…
On 17 June, the home secretary, Priti Patel, signed the order for WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange to be extradited to the US to face 17 counts under the US Espionage Act. His ‘crime’ was receiving and publishing secret US military documents containing evidence of US war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan. If found guilty of all the charges, Assange could be imprisoned for up to 175 years.
Assange, who has appealed, remains in solitary confinement in Belmarsh high-security prison where…
Opening with a quote from the lawyer Otto Gritschneder – ‘Those who sleep in a democracy will wake up in a dictatorship’ – Nils Melzer notes that his new book is intended as ‘an urgent appeal… a wake up call to the general public.’
The United Nations special rapporteur on torture from 2016 until March 2022, Melzer provides a damning indictment of the US, UK, Sweden and Ecuador for their treatment of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Writing in methodical and accessible language, he…
On 12 May, peace activist Maria Gallastegui sprayed ‘Priti Patel Save Julian Assange’ on the wall of Belmarsh high-security prison where Assange is being held. She used a drill in a mock break-out attempt as a protest over Assange’s pending extradition.
To prevent any confusion, Maria had a placard saying ‘Jailbreak in progress’. She was taken into custody and held for four hours.
Journalists and free speech groups from around the world have called on the home secretary, Priti…
On 24 January, the high court in London decided that Julian Assange can appeal to the supreme court to continue fighting extradition on 18 counts of ‘espionage’.
The US government has asked for Assange’s extradition because of his work at WikiLeaks. In 2010, WikiLeaks publicised documents leaked by Chelsea Manning exposing US war crimes in Afghanistan and Iraq.
A district judge at Westminster magistrates’ court ruled in January 2021 that the extradition should not go ahead…
A Thames river protest boat ride, a picnic outside parliament, and a cake-cutting outside Belmarsh prison were some of the ways that Don’t Extradite Assange (DEA) and the Julian Assange Defence Committee (JADC) marked the 50th birthday of imprisoned journalist Julian Assange on 3 July.
On 29 June, Labour MPs Richard Burgon, Diane Abbott and Jeremy Corbyn handed in a cross-party letter at Belmarsh prison about the refusal of the authorities to allow MPs an online video meeting with…
