Yesterday, Julian Assange’s partner Stella Moris shared a BBC interview with Azerbaijan’s President Aliyev. It shows him telling the interviewer that the BBC is in no position to lecture him on Press Freedom while the UK imprisons Julian Assange.
Once the BBC and Australia’s ABC & SBS employed hard hitting investigative journalists who were courageous in their reporting.
People like Mark Davis who gave us the report on Christopher Boyce who was the whistle-blower on CIA involvement in the overthrow of the Whitlam Government and infiltration of our unions or Andrew Fowler who gave us Four Corner’s Sex Lies and Julian Assange. Now, many of ABC’s journalists are not much more than mouth pieces for the government. Much like their counterparts at the BBC they spout whatever information is given to them rather than completing their own scrutiny and analysis.
On Monday 3rd May 2021, World Press Freedom Day was held. Julian Assange remains in what is 23 and a half hour a day solitary confinement in London prison, Belmarsh. This is a prison for the most violent criminals in the UK. A prison for terrorists and murders. This was not meant to hold gentle journalists who have committed no crime. Assange is a man who has lived a life which is the antithesis of violence. His life has been one of shining a light on the evils of corruption and criminal acts carried out by governments and big business.
Julian Assange has not been convicted of any crime. He set up Wikileaks to protect whistle-blowers and provide a safe place to report wrongdoings to ensure those responsible are held to account. Why is he being held in prison when he won his court case against extradition to the United States?
Obama did not charge Julian Assange as he felt that the 4th estate, the media needs to be protected. If they were to charge Julian Assange it would mean that all media would be subject to the same draconian measures, including the New York Times, Washington Post and so on and so forth.
If we have no strong media presence, there will be no accountability to the government or big business. The extradition proceeding was started by Trump and needs to be ended by Biden. Hypocritically, Vice President, Harris tweeted about World Press Freedom along with
U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken who tweeted: “On World Press Freedom Day, the United States continues to advocate for press freedom, the safety of journalists worldwide, and access to information on and offline. A free and independent press ensures the public has access to information. Knowledge is power.
While I agree with the statement, the words are hollow and dishonest while the United States continues its vindictive persecution of Australian Walkley Award winning journalist, Julian Assange.
U.N. Special Rapporteur, Nils Melzer replied:
“Yes, Sir. Knowledge is Power” So, whom are you trying to Dis-Empower by persecuting Assange, Chelsea (Manning) Snowden & John Kirakou & other truth tellers empowering the public? How do you explain to your kids that telling the truth is a crime while tortures and murders walk free?
Richard Melzer replied: “What an absolute joke. I sat in court and saw firsthand how the US is trying to persecute Assange and criminalize journalism because he published evidence of US war crimes. Biden continues Trump’s work by filing for appeal. The US & UK are the biggest threats to a free press anywhere.”
Edward Snowden commented: “This would be more persuasive if the White House weren’t aggressively seeking a 175-year sentence for the publisher of award-winning journalism of global importance- despite pleas from every significant press freedom and human rights organization.”
Assange supporters around the world are punching through the darkness to bring the light of truth to the public. We do this because the case against Julian Assange is wrong. The smears and lies spread about Julian are wrong. We want to right this wrong and get Julian back into the loving arms of his family and friends.
Thank you to all the politicians, activists, academics, journalists, doctors, lawyers, and citizens around the world who are asking for the release of Julian Assange.
Free Julian Assange. Inmate. Our mate. Julian Assange.
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