Julian Assange will today ask a London court to drop his arrest warrant

Krusty · Jul 28, 2019

Donald Trump's administration is after Julian Assange and it serves as a warning to us all

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is being aggressively pursued by the Trump administration, despite Donald Trump's enthusiastic embrace during the 2016 election campaign.

Trump famously declared "I love WikiLeaks" during the campaign as WikiLeaks began rolling out a series of leaks damaging to Hillary Clinton.

Assange — an Australian citizen — is now charged with 17 counts of espionage and one count of hacking and faces a possible 175 years in jail if he is eventually extradited to the United States and found guilty.

The Obama administration also looked at the possibility of charging Assange with espionage but eventually decided that a prosecution under the espionage act would be too problematic.

They concluded that if the US courts could charge WikiLeaks with publishing the classified information they could also charge the New York Times.

The Trump administration obviously doesn't feel the New York Times problem is so acute.
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stapp · Sep 13, 2019

Wikileaks co-founder Julian Assange is to remain in prison when his jail term ends because of his "history of absconding", a judge has ruled.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-49689167

guest · Sep 28, 2019

Spain security firm probed 'for spying on Assange for CIA'
September 27, 2019
https://news.yahoo.com/spain-security-firm-probed-spying-assange-cia-152919133.html

A Spanish private security firm, which is under investigation in Madrid, spied on Wikileaks founder Julian Assange on behalf of the CIA while he was inside the Ecudoran embassy in London, El Pais daily reported Friday.

The reports were allegedly handed over by David Morales, who owns the company and is currently being investigated by Spain’s National Court, the paper said.
Speaking to AFP, one of Assange's lawyers confirmed the National Court was looking into the matter.
It said the company also installed a streaming system so the recordings could be directly accessed by US officials, enabling them to spy on a meeting Assange had with Ecuador's secret service chief Rommy Vallejo in December 2017.
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El Pais: Spanish security company spied on Julian Assange in London for the United States

Krusty · Oct 13, 2019

Barnaby Joyce says Government should protect Julian Assange from extradition to the US

The Australian Government has not done enough to protect Wikileaks founder Julian Assange from extradition to the United States, according to former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce.

Mr Joyce has called for the Federal Government to step in and try to stop Assange being extradited from the United Kingdom to the US on espionage charges.

Assange is currently behind bars in London after living in the Ecuadorian Embassy for seven years.

Mr Joyce said Assange was not on US soil when he began releasing classified information and he should be protected.

"Sovereignty is not just for people that you like or people that you have a philosophical relationship to, it might be for someone you detest, it might be for someone that you find completely obnoxious," Mr Joyce said.

"Nonetheless, if they're a citizen of this nation, they should be afforded the rights of a citizen."
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https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-10...nment-to-prevent-assange-extradition/11599664

guest · Oct 21, 2019

Assange Denied Delay for US Extradition Hearing
British Judge Says Five-Day Hearing for WikiLeaks Founder Will Begin in February
October 21, 2019
https://www.inforisktoday.com/assange-denied-delay-for-us-extradition-hearing-a-13276

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and his legal team returned to court on Monday to argue for a delay in a hearing to consider his extradition to the U.S., where he faces an 18-count indictment for violations of the Espionage Act. A British judge denied the request, and the five-day hearing is slated to begin in Feb. 25, according to the Associated Press.

In making the argument for a three-month delay, Mark Sommers, one of Assange's attorneys, argued in Westminster Magistrates' Court on Monday that his team needed additional time to prepare considering the complexity of the case and the enormous amount of documents involved, AP reports.
District Judge Vanessa Baraitser, however, sided with the U.S. Justice Department, which requested that the hearing remain scheduled for February.
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stapp · Oct 22, 2019

Some off-topic posts removed

Dermot7 · Oct 22, 2019

Julian Assange tells court he cannot prepare his defence – Bridges for Media Freedom

Krusty · Oct 28, 2019

Please, don't shoot the messenger. Thanks.

Julian Assange in 'a crazy situation', set to receive request for a visit from George Christensen

North Queensland politician George Christensen is fighting to bring Julian Assange home and will seek the British Government's permission to meet with controversial WikiLeaks founder ahead of his full extradition hearing early next year.
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https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-10-29/nq-politician-seeks-meeting-with-wikileaks-founder/11649266

"It's about the principle of someone who's published information on the internet and fallen afoul of laws [in a country] that they're not a citizen of, that they actually haven't set foot in," Mr Christensen said.

"You've got to question how that is possible. That's a crazy situation that I don't think most Australians would actually agree with."

The Mackay-based Member for Dawson is co-chair of a cross-party Parliamentary Working Group, a role shared with independent MP Andrew Wilkie, questioning whether the Australian citizen should be forced to face espionage charges in the United States.
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[...]
But Mr Christensen said WikiLeaks had acted in the public interest when it published classified information, including diplomatic cables leaked by US intelligence analyst leaked by US intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning in 2010.

"He has published information that may have been sensitive in the United States, but he wasn't in the United States when he published it, nor is he a citizen of the United States," Mr Christensen said.

"So, I question how someone can fall foul of a law when they are not a citizen or resident of that country."
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hawki · Nov 19, 2019

"Sweden drops Julian Assange rape investigation...

The alleged rape investigation involving WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who is currently in prison in Britain, has been discontinued, a Swedish prosecutor has said..."

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2019/nov/19/sweden-drops-julian-assange-investigation

guest · Nov 25, 2019

Julian Assange's health is so bad he 'could die in prison', say 60 doctors
Group’s open letter calls for Wikileaks founder to be moved from London high-security jail to hospital
November 25, 2019
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2...-so-bad-he-could-die-in-prison-say-60-doctors

More than 60 doctors have written an open letter saying they fear Julian Assange’s health is so bad that the WikiLeaks founder could die inside a top-security British jail.

They based their assessment on “harrowing eyewitness accounts” of his 21 October court appearance in London and a 1 November report by Nils Melzer, the United Nations special rapporteur on torture.
The independent UN rights expert said Assange’s “continued exposure to arbitrariness and abuse may soon end up costing his life”.

“We write this open letter, as medical doctors, to express our serious concerns about the physical and mental health of Julian Assange,” the doctors said in their 16-page open letter.
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Krusty · Nov 26, 2019

Pamela Anderson receives letter from Scott Morrison rejecting plea to intervene in Julian Assange's legal case

Former Baywatch star Pamela Anderson has received a letter from the Prime Minister Scott Morrison, rejecting her passionate plea for Australia to help Julian Assange.

The WikiLeaks founder is currently behind bars in the UK as he fights a US extradition bid on charges filed under the espionage act.

He faces a sentence of up to 175 years in an American prison.

Anderson has been publicly urging Scott Morrison to appeal to British and American authorities to free Assange, declaring he is innocent.

But in a letter to Ms Anderson, published by News Corp, the Prime Minister said the Australian Government could not intervene in the legal proceedings.

"The Australian Government continues to monitor Mr Assange's case closely, as it would for any other Australian citizen in detention overseas," the letter says.

"Beyond providing consular assistance, it is important to note that Australia has no standing and is unable to intervene in Mr Assange's legal proceedings."
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https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-11...tter-from-scott-morrison-rejecting-p/11741044

Krusty · Dec 12, 2019

Julian Assange's father calls on Government to help lobby for Wikileaks founder's release

The father of imprisoned Wikileaks founder Julian Assange says the fight to free his son will fail unless the Australian Government applies greater diplomatic pressure on Britain ahead of his US extradition hearing next year.
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https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-13/julian-assange-father-pleas-for-government-help/11788198

guest · Dec 17, 2019

More Than 100 Doctors Call for Australia to Rescue Julian Assange From UK Prison
December 16, 2019
https://gizmodo.com/more-than-100-doctors-call-for-australia-to-rescue-juli-1840458584

We don’t know exactly what’s going on with Julian Assange’s health, but a growing band of doctors has called on the Australian government to negotiate his transfer out of a maximum-security British jail to a hospital in Australia.

The doctors claim that Assange, an Australian citizen, is subject to cruel and inhumane treatment, writing to top Australia’s minister of foreign affairs and other government officials: “Should Mr Assange die in a British prison, people will want to know what you, Minister, did to prevent his death.”
Last week, Assange appeared via video for a hearing deciding to extend his prison stay. The full extradition hearing is scheduled to commence in February.
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Krusty · Dec 19, 2019

The stakes are high for Julian Assange, but his case could set a larger precedent

Julian Assange may be an odious character in the eyes of some. He may not be a journalist in the estimation of others.

He may be regarded as a serial pest by his detractors, but his case in the British courts has become a cause celebre for free speech and civil liberties advocates.

In a London magistrate's court on Friday, early shots will be fired in the Assange defence team's efforts to block his extradition to the United States on 17 charges under the Espionage Act with a separate indictment under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.

Assange is facing a jail sentence of 175 years on alleged breaches of the Espionage Act, and further penalty under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.
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https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-19/stakes-are-high-for-julian-assange-case-reach-of-us/11813834

Victek · Dec 19, 2019

Krusty said: ↑

The stakes are high for Julian Assange, but his case could set a larger precedent

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-19/stakes-are-high-for-julian-assange-case-reach-of-us/11813834
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Based on an interview that Julian Assange gave some years back with 60 Minutes I'd say his big mistake was believing that his "constitutionally protected rights" would actually protect him in the face of the ire of the military industrial complex - they didn't.

guest · Feb 17, 2020

Why Did Twitter Just "Lockdown" WikiLeaks Account?
February 17, 2020
https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/why-did-twitter-just-lockdown-wikileaks-account

[...] just days before Julian Assange's extradition hearings are set to continue, Kristin Hrafnsson - a WikiLeaks' journalist - reports that the WikiLeaks' Twitter account has been locked-down...

WikiLeaks twitter account has been locked, shortly before Assange extradition hearing. All attempts to get it reopened via regular channels have been unsuccessful. It has been impossible to reach a human at twitter to resolve the issue. Can someone fix this?@twittersupport @jack
— Kristinn Hrafnsson (@khrafnsson) February 17, 2020
It is not the first time Twitter has - allegedly - acted to suppress WikiLeaks voice.

Friday afternoon, users noted, "#DNCLeaks" was trending, with more than 250,000 tweets about it on the platform. By Friday evening, it vanished completely from the site's "trending" bar for at least 20 minutes. It returned as "#DNCLeak" after users erupted, though it was too late to quell their rage.
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In a message on Twitter, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey said in response to the allegation, "False," though users were quick to express their skepticism. And we are sure it's just a coincidence that WikiLeaks account has been locked-down again this time.
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Krusty · Feb 17, 2020

Andrew Wilkie and George Christensen in London to visit Julian Assange, as Jeremy Corbyn says UK view on extradition is shifting

British Opposition Leader Jeremy Corbyn says he is surprised over what he sees as a shift in the British Government's position on Julian Assange and the UK's "unbalanced" extradition relationship with the United States.

Mr Corbyn made the comments after a meeting with Australian independent MP Andrew Wilkie, who is in London on a privately funded trip to visit the WikiLeaks founder in prison.

The Labour leader told the ABC that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's answers to House of Commons questions about the extradition deal the UK had with the US last Wednesday (local time) were unexpected.

"He accepted that it is an unbalanced treaty and it is not a fair one, therefore I think that is a big change by the British Government," Mr Corbyn said.

In the House, Mr Corbyn had argued that the UK had a "one-sided extradition treaty" with the US and asked Mr Johnson to commit to an "equal and balanced" future relationship.

"I do think that there are elements of that relationship that are unbalanced and I certainly think it is worth looking at," Mr Johnson replied.
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https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02...extradition-deal-view-changing-in-uk/11974080

Mr Corbyn said he thought this could be partly linked to a high-profile battle underway between the US and UK after Washington rejected a request for the extradition of an American citizen who fled Britain after allegedly causing the death of a teenage motorcyclist.

He said it was also unexpected that Mr Johnson did not argue against him when he questioned whether it was right that someone should be deported for exposing the truth.

"The Prime Minister did not challenge my assertions on this, but seems to me to understand that there is a principle here that somebody who opens up and tells the truth, as Julian Assange has done, should not face deportation to the United States," Mr Corbyn said.
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Krusty · Feb 18, 2020

Australian MPs say Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is 'a man under enormous pressure' following prison visit

Australian MPs Andrew Wilkie and George Christensen have raised concerns over Julian Assange's mental wellbeing after meeting with him in a British jail.
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https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02...n-assange-health-improving-in-prison/11978336

[...]
"It was kind of state you'd expect from a man who has been absolutely and utterly isolated and who doesn't know what has been going on," he said.

"It was clear to us that his mental state isn't good."

Mr Wilkie echoed Mr Christensen's assessment.

"I'm not a psychologist. but it was obvious that there's a man who's under enormous pressure," he said.

"Clearly his health and mental health has deteriorated during what is effectively years in captivity."
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Krusty · Feb 19, 2020

Julian Assange offered presidential pardon from Donald Trump to say Russia not involved in Democrats hack, court hears

A court in London has heard an allegation that Julian Assange was offered a presidential pardon if he agreed to say that Russia was not involved in leaking Democratic party emails.
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https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02...-assange-presidential-pardon-alleged/11982676

Krusty · Feb 19, 2020

White House denies offer to pardon Julian Assange if he said Russia wasn’t involved in election hack

A lawyer for jailed WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has claimed in court the US President made him a tantalising offer of freedom.

The US Government has denied President Donald Trump tried to bribe WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange with freedom by offering to pardon the Australian if he said Russia didn’t leak emails that helped win Mr Trump the election.
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https://www.news.com.au/technology/...k/news-story/7ecdf75afb561c57e150aaf69a822a00

Krusty · Feb 20, 2020

Julian Assange intends to seek asylum in France, lawyers say

Julian Assange's European defence team has said it will try to seek asylum in France for the Wikileaks founder, whose full hearings for extradition to the United States on spying charges start next week in London.

French team member Eric Dupont-Moretti said Assange's case placed at stake "the fate and the status of all journalists".

"We consider the situation is sufficiently serious that our duty is to talk about it [with French President Emmanuel Macron]," the lawyer said.
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https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02...to-seek-asylum-in-france-lawyers-say/11987470

Krusty · Feb 22, 2020

Julian Assange and his Australian lawyers were secretly recorded in Ecuador's London embassy

Barrister Geoffrey Robertson shuffles into the entrance to Ecuador's embassy in London, a camera recording the sound of his shoes echoing on the hard tiles.

It's just after 7:00pm on January 12, 2018.

The camera rolls as Robertson stops at the front door, unbuttons his overcoat and removes his cap.

Once inside the embassy, other cameras follow him as he's ushered into a meeting room, where the storied Queen's Counsel is offered a cup of tea.

After a few minutes, he is greeted by the embassy's most famous resident, Julian Assange.

The camera continues to roll, recording every word of the confidential legal conversation which follows.

While this may be typical surveillance at a secure diplomatic property, what Robertson did not know was he and a handful of other lawyers, were allegedly being targeted in a remarkable and deeply illegal surveillance operation possibly run at the request of the US Government.
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https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02...sange-captured-lawyers-conversations/11985872

And recordings such as Robertson's visit are at the heart of concerns about the surveillance: privileged legal conversations between lawyer and client in a diplomatic residence were recorded and, later, accessed from IP addresses in the United States and Ecuador.

Robertson was only one of at least three Australian lawyers and more than two dozen other legal advisers from around the world that were caught up in the surveillance operation.
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[...]
While the case made headlines in Europe and the UK, there has been little to no discussion here about what it means for the Australian citizens and lawyers caught up in the alleged espionage operation.

The Law Council of Australia told the ABC the alleged surveillance operation was "deeply disturbing".

"The allegations that Julian Assange's conversations with his lawyer were being recorded are really serious," the council's president, Pauline Wright said.

"If you can't have that full, frank discussion without fear that that's being recorded and potentially released to the authorities … it erodes trust in the whole system.

"It goes to the heart of the client lawyer privilege."
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guest · Feb 24, 2020

Assange appears in British court to fight U.S. extradition bid
February 24, 2020
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...rt-to-fight-u-s-extradition-bid-idUSKCN20I0J8

Julian Assange appeared before a British court on Monday to fight an extradition request from the United States which wants to put the 48-year-old on trial for hacking government computers and violating an espionage law.

Jennifer Robinson, Assange’s lawyer, says his case could lead to criminalising activities crucial to investigative journalists and his work has shed an unprecedented light on how the United States conducted its wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
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Krusty · Feb 26, 2020

Julian Assange attempted to warn White House, Hillary Clinton of impending WikiLeaks release, lawyer says

Julian Assange tried to contact Hillary Clinton and the White House when he realised that unredacted US diplomatic cables given to WikiLeaks were about to be dumped on the internet, his lawyer has told his London extradition hearing.
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https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02...y-clinton-white-house-wikileaks-dump/12001286

guest · Feb 28, 2020

WikiLeaks founder Assange is well enough to participate in extradition proceedings, says Judge
February 27, 2020
https://www.computerweekly.com/news...ticipate-in-extradition-proceeings-says-Judge

A judge has dismissed claims that Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is struggling to participate in his extradition hearing because of his "vulnerable" mental state.

Lawyers for Assange, 48, argued that he should be allowed to leave the secure dock at Woolwich Crown Court to sit with them, citing a number of reasons including his "precarious psychological vulnerability".
The judge said other "sensible, appropriate and proportionate" measures could be put in place, such as regular breaks, to ensure he could instruct lawyers and get a fair trial.
US government’s arguments are ‘Alice in Wonderland’
Edward Fitzgerald, QC, representing Assange, responded: "To describe the protection for political offences as 'out of date' is a gross extravagance of language."
Mr Fitzgerald said prosecutors were making a "very bizarre argument" by claiming that "a treaty that gives rise to the [extradition] request has nothing to do with the lawfulness of the request".

"We are in a pretty strange Alice in Wonderland world," he added.
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