Un enfoque diferente - Nicaragua - A different focus
Another development in the struggle to free Julian Assange
Enviado por tortilla
el Vie, 29/03/2024 - 17:10
Journalists Speak Up For Assange, March 29th 2024
Dear friends and colleagues,
You’ll no doubt know that this past week saw a lot of movement in the case of our persecuted colleague. As always, we wanted to arm you with resources so you can remain best informed on the latest developments.
Of course, headlines and media attention first started to spike last week after the Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. Department of Justice officials are considering a deal that could allow Julian Assange to plead guilty to a reduced charge of mishandling classified information — thus reducing his charges from federal felonies to misdemeanour crimes.
The deal could reportedly see Assange be released for time spent in H.M.P. Belmarsh, given he’s been there for a period soon approaching five years.
While Assange’s lawyers issued a statement in which they said that they had received “no indication” from the US DoJ that they intend to resolve the case, Joe Lauria, a signatory of this campaign and reporting for Consortium News, revealed that he had learned of the talks between Assange’s lawyers and the DoJ in off-the-record discussions last month. As Joe is a trusted colleague, it can be taken with a high degree of certainty that related elements of the WSJ report are accurate.
And while this news was still being processed, word started to spread on Monday afternoon that, by the next morning, there would be a judgement in Assange’s application for an appeal at the U.K. High Court.
As Stella Assange would go on to describe it in an email to followers, it was: “The decision that wasn’t a decision.”
Out of nine legal grounds where Assange’s lawyers sought to launch an appeal, six were rejected. The decision on the remaining three was adjourned for three weeks.
This adjournment gives the U.S. a further opportunity to provide the U.K. assurances — something they already did in 2021, later prompting Amnesty International to describe them as “inherently unreliable.”
Nonetheless, the U.S. will have to provide the U.K. court with assurances that Assange can raise a First Amendment defence, that he’ll be entitled to the same rights as a U.S. citizen, and that he will not be subject to the death penalty. While Glenn Greenwald described this as a “partial victory,” another colleague and esteemed signatory here, Jonathan Cook, provided a much more sober analysis that we would recommend.
For more detail on the legal intricacies, we would recommend the report of our very own Tareq Haddad, and that of another respected signatory, Kevin Gosztola. Footage of Stella’s comments outside the court and of her interview with Sky News are available here.
The 66-page judgement, alongside the 3-page judge’s orders and the 4-page media briefing, are available here.
