On the morning of Jan. 4, at the entrance of Britain's Central Criminal Court on Old Bailey Street in London, hundreds of hardcore Supporters of Julian Assange shouted slogans from more than a dozen international media reporters: "Freedom! freely! "Release Assange immediately!" From time to time, supporters carried signs and posters to the entrance of the court to demonstrate, and then were dragged away from the scene by the police one by one.
It was the day that determined Assange's fate. For the past decade, WikiLeaks founder and editor-in-chief Assange has been subjected to judicial persecution in the United States in Many European countries, including Sweden and the United Kingdom.
After seven years of hiding at the Ecuadorian Embassy in The United Kingdom since June 2012, British police dragged Assange out of the embassy and sent him to Belmarsh Prison in London, where he was held in prison for felons. Since then, the United States has accelerated the extradition of Assange, and the United States and Britain have cooperated undisguisedly in this regard.
In Britain's felon prisons, without sunlight and fresh air, without enough medical care and medicines, without space to exercise and nutritious food, Assange's health has worsened.
After more than an hour of trial on the morning of January 4, Judge Vanessa Baraitser ultimately refused to extradite Assange to the United States on the grounds that assange was melancholy and desperate, and that extradition could lead to his suicide. Citing co-defendant Chelsea Manning in connection with assange's case, Chelsea Manning attempted suicide at the Alexandria Detention Facility in the United States, the judge worried that poor prison conditions in the United States would affect Assange's mental health.
Outside the courtroom, some supporters rejoiced and even shed tears when they heard the news, and such reasons did not completely end the Assange case. After the trial, Assange was sent back to prison and was not given personal freedom.
Assange's partner, Mum of two, Stella Morrison, gave a public speech outside the courtroom: "I thought Julian would be back today, he didn't come back, but I believe that day will come." We can't celebrate this day when Julian is still suffering in Belmars Prison, when his children still have to be separated from their father. The day he gets home, we'll celebrate. ”
Assange's mother, Christina, said on social media: "It will only be over after Assange is able to return home and all the cases are dropped." We've been through ten years of pain, and I hope to embrace him as tightly as I did ten years ago. ”
Assange in 2010 and 2019
Ten years ago, Assange and his mother hugged each other
None of Britain's ruling MPs have spoken out about the Assange case, and politicians who like to point fingers at other countries on human rights issues are basically pretending to be deaf and dumb. The only politicians on the left who spoke out was Jeremy Corbyn, former leader of Britain's opposition Labour Party, who said: "It is good news that the UK has refused to extradite Assange to the US, and extradition is an attack on press freedom." We should also be wary that judges accept those extradition grounds put forward by the United States that threaten our freedom of expression and freedom of the press. Assange should be released immediately. ”
Kristin Lafensen, Assange's colleague and partner, a prominent investigative journalist in Iceland who took over as editor-in-chief of WikiLeaks, said outside the courtroom: "The outcome of this trial is only a personal victory for Assange, not a victory for the journalistic profession, and the U.S. government should stop extradition appeals and release Assange." ”
It is worth mentioning that, like Assange, lafensen's career experiences also annotate what is press freedom in the West. While working as an investigative journalist in Iceland, he discussed a corruption case at an Icelandic financial institution on live television, which was cut off on the spot, fired, and terminated for his second job.
During the decade when Assange lost his freedom, Lafensen succeeded Assange as wikileaks spokesperson and editor-in-chief. Especially in 2015, even though Assange lost his freedom to hide in the Ecuadorian embassy, WikiLeaks, with the help of colleagues, still published the private emails of U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
On the afternoon of January 4, Mexican President López-Obrador publicly pledged in a televised address that Mexico would provide political asylum to Assange. This is the strongest solidarity from the international community, and even though Assange was still in prison at that moment, the statement of the President of Mexico represents a country and shows the attitude of a North American power.
On Wednesday (6th), the Assange case will also hold a bail hearing, and the United States will also take appeal action in the next two weeks, and Assange's fate is still difficult to predict. As an individual journalist in Western society, he became one of America's number one enemies when he and the WikiLeaks he created made public the war crimes of the United States and NATO allies. Assange's supporters say it is those who should be brought to justice most often than whistleblowers who expose it all.
Timeline of events in Assange
In April 2010, WikiLeaks published a series of war crimes committed by U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan; in August, Swedish police investigated Assange on two rape and sexual harassment allegations, which Assange denied; in November, Sweden demanded that Assange be wanted through Interpol; and in December, Assange surrendered to the London Police and was released on bail.
In May 2012, the Uk's High Court ruled that Assange should be extradited back to Sweden; in June, Assange sought political asylum at the Ecuadorian Embassy in Britain; and in August, Ecuador agreed to grant assange political asylum.
In May 2016, Swedish prosecutors withdrew all charges against Assange, but the British still issued an arrest warrant for assange's failure to appear in court.
In April 2019, British police broke into the Ecuadorian embassy and arrested Assange.
In February 2020, Lancet magazine published an open letter from 117 doctors calling for an end to Assange's imprisonment and medical abuse.
(Reporter Zheng Yan)
(Edited by Lei Li)