Julian Assange proclaimed honorary citizen of Rome
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In June 2022, the city of Lucera in the southern province of Foggia became Italy's first town to grant Assange honorary citizenship status.
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Protestors hold a placard reading Free Assange outside the United States Embassy in Rome, Monday, Sept. 7, 2020 (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was given honorary citizenship by Rome's City Council on Thursday, according to a live broadcast.
Virginia Raggi, Rome's previous mayor, introduced the plan in November 2023. The initiative received 17 votes in favor and two against from members of the Capitoline Assembly.
In June 2022, the city of Lucera in the southern province of Foggia became Italy's first town to grant Assange honorary citizenship status, and authorities in Milan authorities are currently contemplating granting him the title.
In April 2019, Assange was transferred to London's high-security Belmarsh prison for breaching bail conditions. He faces prosecution in the US under the Espionage Act for obtaining and disclosing classified information.
If found guilty, he could be sentenced to up to 175 years in prison.
Last June, Assange's appeal at the UK High Court was unsuccessful.
He is currently awaiting a potentially final appeal hearing scheduled at the High Court in London from February 20-21.
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) said on Wednesday that the prosecution of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange represents a global threat to media freedom.
CPJ perpetually excludes Assange from imprisoned journalists list
For the fifth consecutive year, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has ignored Jullian Assange again in its census report for 2023.
This prompted Kevin Gosztola, a journalist for Scheerpost, to email the CPJ and demand answers on why Assange is still excluded, however, Gosztola was met with disappointment.
CPJ answered by matching its exact statement from a 2019 post authored by Robert Mahoney, CPJ executive editor in which he stood by the exclusion of the Australian activist and journalist:
"After extensive research and consideration, CPJ chose not to list Assange as a journalist, in part because his role has just as often been as a source and because WikiLeaks does not generally perform as a news outlet with an editorial process."
When Gosztola mentioned that “extensive research and consideration” was completed in 2019, CPJ answered: “Yes, there have been many articles about our position on Assange. While you’re free to disagree, our position has been clear, transparent, and consistent for years.”
The "extensive research and consideration" that CPJ did to decide that Assange is not a journalist has never been shared with the public, according to Gosztola who stressed that Assange never held a security clearance or a position in the US government that would allow him access to classified documents.
US judge allows lawsuit on CIA role of spying on Assange visitors
In December, a federal judge ruled that four American citizens, including lawyers and journalists, can move forward with their lawsuit against the CIA in an issue related to a visit to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.
According to the individuals, the US spy agency indirectly carried out an illegal search of their electronic devices when they visited Assange at the Ecuadorian embassy in London.
The ruling by Judge John Koeltl of Manhatten District allows the case, filed in August 2022, to proceed partially.
While claims against former CIA Director Mike Pompeo and embassy security cameras were dismissed, allegations of the agency remotely searching personal devices will be heard in court.
The lawsuit stems from visits the plaintiffs made to Assange between 2017 and 2018.
Press reports and court filings claim that Undercover Global, a Spanish security firm hired by the embassy, was compromised by US spies. Secret surveillance equipment planted to spy on Assange also gathered data on his visitors, including the four American citizens, which was then shared with the CIA, as per the lawsuit.
