Extra

As an appeals court in London is deciding whether WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange should be extradited to the United States for publishing classified documents exposing U.S. war crimes. Assange faces up to 175 years in prison under the Espionage Act for publishing classified documents exposing U.S. war crimes, including in Iraq and Afghanistan. This is a sham political trial, a punitive attempt by the British government to try and punish Assange on behalf of the United States.  

It is appalling that the British government should buckle under such threats. The messenger, exposing US war crimes MUST NOT BE PUNISHED The hearing comes just weeks after Yahoo News revealed the CIA had considered assassinating or kidnapping Assange. Could this have possibly resulted in a shootout between British police and US CIA/military assassins? This speaks volumes of the declining mafia mindset of the US government. 

The British government has also come under fire for incarcerating an ailing Assange in a top-security prison, Belmarsh. Calls for Julian Assange to be freed are growing. Earlier this month, 25 civil society groups wrote to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland demanding extradition proceedings be dropped. The groups include Amnesty International, the ACLU, Reporters Without Borders and the Electronic Freedom Foundation. As the hearing got underway Wednesday, the International Federation of Journalists, representing more than half a million reporters worldwide, ran a full-page advertisement in the print edition of The Times of London that said, “Media freedom is suffering lasting damage by the continued prosecution of Julian Assange.” 

Finally, we must remember the critical role played by release of the Pentagon Papers by Daniel Ellsberg exposing the war crimes committed by US soldiers in Vietnam bringing an abrupt cessation of hostilities saving thousands of lives. Ellsberg faced similar daunting risks but was not hounded by the US government. Let us hope the British government resists mounting US pressure and releases Assange from Belmarsh immediately.