Wikileaks: tomorrow hearing in London, Amnesty International calls for the annulment of charges against Assange and no US extradition

On the eve of the hearing against a UK court decision not to extradite Julian Assange to the US, Amnesty International’s secretary general, Agnès Callamard, asked US authorities to quash the charges against the accused and the British authorities. not to extradite him and immediately release him. Callamard reiterated these requests after a Yahoo News investigation revealed that US intelligence had considered kidnapping or killing Assange while he was inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London. These revelations further undermine the already unreliable diplomatic assurances given by the US that, if extradited, Assange would not be placed in conditions equivalent to mistreatment. “The assurances that the US government would not place Assange in a maximum security prison or subject him to special administrative measures, have been contradicted by the admission, again by the US, that these guarantees could be lost – said Callamard. that the CIA has considered kidnapping or killing Assange raises even more doubts about the credibility of US promises and further highlights the political motivations behind this affair “.” Almost 20 years later – recalls Callamard – none of the people suspected of war crimes committed by the US in the wars of Afghanistan and Iraq have been indicted, much less convicted, while the one who disclosed such crimes risks spending the rest of his life in prison “. In the hearings of tomorrow and the day after, October 27 and 28, the five reasons on which the appeal presented by the United States against the decision taken in January – by a lower court – not to extradite Assange will have to be examined. Above all, he will have to judge the credibility of the assurances given by the US on the treatment applied to the Assange prisoner, which Amnesty International considers unreliable. America accuses the Wikileaks founder of conspiring, along with military analyst Chelsea Manning, to illegally obtain confidential information. Under the Espionage Act and the Cyber ​​Fraud Act, he faces up to 175 years in prison. The indictment of Assange constitutes a serious threat to press freedom, both in the US and elsewhere: the Australian journalist has carried out professional activities “typical of the daily experience of investigative journalism”. The eventual extradition of Assange would criminalize common journalistic practices and would allow the US and other governments to target journalists and writers outside their jurisdictions for reporting their wrongdoing. “The relentless hunt for Assange by the US government is obviously a punitive measure, but at stake is not just the fate of a person – concluded Callamard. In danger are the freedom of the press and of expression. Journalism and investigative publishing are of fundamental importance to monitor and denounce the actions of governments and call those who violate human rights to respond. For this reason, the US appeal must be rejected, the charges must be quashed and Assange must be released “.