Slowly Suffocating Assange
The High Court of England and Wales has ruled that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange may potentially get a final appeal against extradition to the United States, but only within a very limited scope and only if specific conditions are met.
The court ruled that Assange may appeal only on the grounds that his freedom of speech might be restricted in the U.S., and that there is a possibility he could receive the death penalty.
If the U.S. provides "assurances" that neither of these things will happen, then the trial moves to another phase where Assange’s legal team may debate the merits of those assurances. If the U.S. does not provide those assurances, then the limited appeal will move forward.
Absurdly, the court determined that Assange’s lawyers may not argue against extradition on matters as self-evidently critical as the fact that the C.I.A. plotted to assassinate him, or on the basis that he is being politically persecuted for the crime of inconvenient journalism...
Cook writes:
"The case has always been about buying time. To disappear Assange from public view. To vilify him. To smash the revolutionary publishing platform he founded to help whistleblowers expose state crimes. To send a message to other journalists that the U.S. can reach them wherever they live should they try to hold Washington to account for its criminality.
And worst of all, to provide a final solution for the nuisance Assange had become for the global superpower by trapping him in an endless process of incarceration and trial that, if it is allowed to drag on long enough, will most likely kill him."...
Related
The Most Astounding Feature of the Assange Case, by Paul Craig Roberts, Lew Rockwell, 29 March 2024:
The most extraordinary thing about Julian Assange is that he is being treated as if he were an American citizen. "Treason" was the original cry, now converted to "espionage."
There was no espionage. Wikileaks published, and made available to the New York Times, The Guardian, and other media organizations leaked information. The media organizations published the information, just as did Wikileaks, but they are not charged. Neither is Wikileaks charged. Only Julian Assange is charged....
The orchestrated, in fact legally incorrect, case against Assange is based on nothing but Washington’s demand for revenge. Here is what Assange is guilty of: He released leaked information that showed conclusively that the United States government is a liar, a deceiver of its allies, and a war criminal. The purpose of the case against Assange is to pay him back and to intimidate all journalists from ever again publishing information unfavorable to the US government.
In other words, the purpose of the Assange case is to end forever the ability of media to hold government accountable. The Assange case is the fundamental foundation for tyranny. Once it is in place, tyranny is unleashed...
Assange's 'Reprieve' Is Another Lie, Hiding the Real Goal of Keeping Him Endlessly Locked Up, by Jonathan Cook, Antiwar.com, 29 March 2024: The US has had years to clarify its intention to give Assange a fair trial but refuses to do so. The UK court’s latest ruling is yet more collusion in his show trial
Saving Julian Assange, Free Speech, and Democracy - The fight against extradition is probably the last best chance for even a facade of due process, by James Bovard, American Conversative, 28 March 2024.
The Julian Assange Media Blackout Must End
Julian Assange Persecuted for Truth-Telling