Amnesty Int'l urges Australian gov. to take action for Assange release
3 Min Read
Amnesty International implores the Australian government to call on the US to drop charges against Assange and stop attempts to extradite him.
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Supporters of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange protest against his extradition to the US outside the High Court in London on January 24, 2022 (AFP)
In commemoration of Julian Assange's 52nd birthday, Amnesty International released a statement calling on the Australian government to take all necessary measures to ensure the WikiLeaks founder's safe release.
"Monday 3rd of July will mark Julian Assange’s 52nd birthday. This will be his 13th birthday without his freedom … [Australian] Prime Minister [Anthony] Albanese and the Australian government must do everything in their power to protect Assange, an Australian citizen, from ongoing and threatened human rights violations, and take all necessary measures to ensure his safety. The Prime Minister must ensure that this is the last birthday Julian Assange must spend in fear, locked away from his loved ones," Amnesty International said in a statement.
Furthermore, the human rights organization implored the Australian government to call on the US to drop charges against Assange and stop attempts to extradite him.
Read more: Records of Keir Starmer’s trips to US to discuss Assange destroyed
Julian Assange; a name that emerged in the media and international arena after WikiLeaks, a website he founded in 2010, revealed important and dangerous information and facts about what the United States government and other governments have wrought in the Middle East - crimes they have not been held accountable for yet. As a result, Assange faced pressure and persecution, until he was arrested by the British police in 2019 after seeking refuge for seven years in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London.
Since then, Assange has been held in the high-security Belmarsh Prison near London, facing a possible prison sentence of 175 years after the UK Supreme Court approved his extradition to the United States in December 2021.
Recognizing the importance of Assange's revelations, and in support of press freedom wherever it may be, and as a tribute to his struggle for truth, Al Mayadeen produced a three-part docuseries titled "A Man Vs. An Empire."
Assange, who provided the world with important and dangerous information, paid a steep price for his revelations, but as a result, he established a new and pioneering school in investigative journalism around the world.
The docuseries delves into the details of Assange's long journey, documenting the inception of the WikiLeaks website and what Assange went through. It also explores what he revealed during the early years of his work, and the pressures and persecution he faced as a result of his actions. This ultimately led him to seek refuge in an embassy before his arrest and his difficult life in prison, with the looming threat of extradition to the United States at any moment.
Each episode of this series showcases a phase of Assange's life and the story of WikiLeaks.
