Corbyn urges US lawmakers to oppose Espionage Act, support Assange

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
20 Jan 2023 23:36
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UK MP Jeremy Corbyn urges US officials to advocate for the release of Julian Assange considering "all be safer as a result of that."

Former Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn speaks during a protest, outside the gates of Downing Street, against the increase of the cost of living, in London, Saturday, April 2, 2022(AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)

Jeremy Corbyn, a member of the UK parliament and former Labour Party leader, encouraged US politicians, on Friday, to speak out against prosecuting Wikileaks founder, Julian Assange, under the Espionage Act and urged them to advocate for his release.

At the Belmarsh Tribunal event in Washington, Corbyn argued "I appeal to elected officials in the United States to speak up to defend democracy, speak up against the powers of the Espionage Act, and speak up for Julian Assange."

Corbyn then added "We are demanding justice for Julian Assange. Here is the call - let’s Free Julian Assange and we will all be safer as a result of that," he added.

Declassified UK: foreign ministry 'misled parliament' in Assange case

British MP and former Scottish Justice Secretary, Kenny MacAskill, accused Foreign Office Minister David Rutley, of “misleading parliament” over his department’s involvement in the secret operation to kidnap Julian Assange.

MacAskill was referring to Operation Pelican, the secret Metropolitan Police-led operation to seize Assange from the asylum at the Ecuadorian embassy in London in 2019, as he asked the minister “whether any people working on Operation Pelican were based within [its] Department’s premises.”

In response, Rutley told parliament last week: “No Foreign and Commonwealth Office [FDCO] officials were directly assigned to work on Operation Pelican.” However, that contradicts a response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOI) request in July 2021 when the Foreign Office confirmed that “three FCDO officials did some work on Operation Pelican, the most senior of which was Head of Latin America Department.”

In the Ministerial Code, ministers are required to “be as open as possible with parliament” and to “give accurate and truthful information”, which in turn "governs the answers ministers provide to parliamentary questions”.

It was revealed last Tuesday that at least 15 people were appointed by the UK government to the secret operation to seize WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London.