Free Julian Assange
The ruling could come any day now. And what does the EU say?
Whistleblower Chelsea, aka Bradley Manning, has long since returned to freedom, while Julian Assange has had to fight for his freedom for thirteen years. The High Court in London will now decide on his extradition. Last week, there was a debate in the EU Parliament.
Julian Assange Mantra © Corona Bavaria
European Parliament
Wednesday, February 28, 2024: The time has finally come. At least for those MEPs who voted in favor of a "Julian Assange" item two days earlier. The EU Commission under President Ursula von der Leyen must now break its silence and make a statement in the European Parliament on the impending extradition of Julian Assange! So writes Patrick Breyer from the Pirate Party on X. The party had pushed through the vote, which then turned out to be very close - for a debate in Parliament. The Conservatives and Liberals voted against. Previously, on the initiative of the Pirates, 46 MEPs from various political parties had appealed to the British Home Secretary to prevent an extradition of the WikiLeaks founder to the United States.
On this Wednesday evening, it is already 9:30 pm when it is time for the session "The extradition and prosecution of Julian Assange and implications on freedom of the press". Julian Assange's father, John Shipton, is also sitting in the public gallery. He has come from London, where he followed his son's trial the days before and protested outside the court for his release. A few hundred people demonstrated with him. A relatively small number, considering the international dimension of the trial. This evening in Strasbourg was no different. In the EU Parliament, Assange's father looks out over an almost empty chamber. No more than a dozen MEPs can be seen in the livestream. It must have been a depressing sight for John Shipton. Perhaps even a bad omen. The careless gesture of a parliament: nothing of importance to EU politics is being discussed here.
Manning and Assange
Bradley Manning was an IT specialist in the US armed forces and an American citizen when he leaked the classified military documents to WikiLeaks. Julian Assange is an Australian hacker and journalist and published the documents as such on WikiLeaks, which is also not a US company. Bradley Manning was sentenced to 35 years in prison and pardoned after seven years by President Barak Obama. The military approved and financed the sex change to Chelsea Manning. In 2019, she was taken into custody again for refusing to testify before a grand jury investigating WikiLeaks. Chelsea Manning is free again. After seven years in the Ecuadorian embassy, Julian Assange has now been in Belmarsh high-security prison for five years - mostly in solitary confinement. He is facing 175 years in prison on espionage charges. In other words, certain death behind bars.
Why this unequal treatment? Is Manning seen as an individual offender, while Assange is seen as a multiplier? According to the US Attorney's Office, Assange is said to have incited Manning to break the law. In spring 2010, Manning wrote to the WikiLeaks founder via chat that he would soon have no more new documents to publish. "Curious eyes never run dry in my experience", Assange is said to have replied according to the indictment. The prosecution interpreted this as an invitation to steal further secret material. This would make Assange's statement an incitement to break the law. And a journalist is not allowed to do that.
If Assange would be extradited to the USA: would a fair trial and good prison conditions be expected? As Vice President, Joe Biden compared Assange to a "high-tech terrorist" in 2010. During President Donald Trump's time in office, the CIA under Mike Pompeo is said to have discussed the kidnapping and even murder of Assange after WikiLeaks published "Vault 7", a cache of CIA hacking tools, in 2017. During the current court case in London, the American prosecutor confirmed that the USA could bring new charges against Assange, which could even result in the death penalty. The UK is not allowed to extradite anyone to a country where they could face the death penalty. Also: according to British law, espionage is considered a political crime - which is exempt from extradition under the agreement between the UK and the USA.
European Union and free speech
"Where would it lead if we could no longer be informed about war crimes committed by allied countries", asks former German Federal Minister of Justice Herta Däubler-Gmelin in the TV debate on "Monitor" StudioM on January 22, 2022. Two years later, the Digital Services Act came into force in the European Union. The EU Commission intends to use it to "regulate", i.e. control, large internet platforms (since November 16, 2023) and, since February 17, 2017, smaller providers as well. And ultimately censor them. "Disinformation" is to be banned. The Russian foreign broadcaster Russia Today has already been banned since the war in Ukraine. What does the future hold for WikiLeaks?
European Commission
At the end of the debate on Julian Assange in the EU Parliament, Frenchman Thierry Breton takes to the lectern. It is now after 10 pm. The EU Commissioner for Internal Market and Services with extended responsibility for Defense and Space delivers the EU Commission's statement on the Julian Assange case. Breton only needs three sentences to deprive Assange’s father, who is listening intently in the public gallery, of any hope of an address of solidarity:
We all agree that freedom of expression and free and independent press are essential in any democratic society. As mentioned, a court in the United Kingdom is currently hearing Julian Assange’s extradition case. We do not comment on the ongoing judicial proceedings.
Thierry Breton
The EU Commissioner then gathers up his speech sheet and returns to his seat. The next item on the parliamentary agenda is called. It's about new regulations on driving licenses.
A critical voice from the EU Parliament
The next day, German member of European Parliament, Martin Sonneborn, Federal Chairman of DIE PARTEI (The Party), summarizes his thoughts in the EU plenary chamber, which is empty in the afternoon. A slight variation of his speech from the previous day in Parliament. In the short video (GER) he says, among other things:
The basic principle of freedom of the press and democracy stands or falls with Assange. If the same EU that produces elaborate long-term studies on plastic lids on milk cartons has not had the slightest thing to say about Assange, of all people, for thirteen years, then it could not show more clearly which society and which values it really stands for.
Martin Sonneborn
In view of the possibility that Julian Assange could be sentenced as early as this week and then possibly put on a plane to the USA within hours, Martin Sonneborn has posted a longer statement (GER) online. Sonneborn's YouTube channel also features a video where Julian Assange speaks about his view on media, war and the populations:
This text was first published in German on my website.