Wikileaks founder Julian Assange nominated for Nobel Peace Prize
The journalism icon is wanted in the US for doing his job: disclosing US’ war crimes in Afghanistan and Iraq.
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Assange revealed US’ war crimes and crimes against humanity in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere (Getty Images)
Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks, has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his courageous battle to promote human rights, democracy, and press freedom, Morning Star reported.
Before today's deadline for nominations, German MEP Martin Sonnenborn responded to a request by Assange's partner Stella Moris.
My mother has just nominated Julian Assange for the Nobel Peace Prize. (Parents are both Nobel Peace Prize laureates, UN Peacekeepers 1988). pic.twitter.com/OaJvvVaxoc
— Richard Medhurst (@richimedhurst) January 31, 2022
Moris urged support for Assange, who is still being held in the Belmarsh high-security jail following WikiLeaks’ publication of hundreds of thousands of leaked documents relating to the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.
“Julian Assange has made unique and undeniable contributions to peace by lifting the fog of war,” Moris said.
The Norwegian Nobel Institute, which bestows the prize worldwide, affirmed that Assange's nomination had been accepted.
Last year, the Nobel committee was chastised for failing to name Assange among the joint recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize, which went to journalists Maria Resa and Dmitry Muratov.
On his account, Thorberg Jagland, a former Norwegian prime minister and chair of the Nobel Peace Prize Committee, said the award “must raise pressure on the demand to free Assange and pardon [US whistleblower Edward] Snowden.”
After revealing US’ war crimes and crimes against humanity in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere, Assange could face 175 years in prison in the US under the draconian Espionage Act, which many consider an assault on the US Constitution's first amendment.
Read More: Leaks That Prophesized the US Failure in Afghan War
Press freedom groups reiterated on several occasions that Assange is facing a “politically driven prosecution” for releasing facts about the world's wealthy and powerful elites.
Dear fellow citizens,
— Fight 4 Assange (@Fight4Assange) February 1, 2022
Whats happening to Julian #Assange is WRONG!
Even if you disagree with his journalism, you can agree this crushing of a single defenceless individual by a gang of "democratic" states is appalling
Please stand up against his brutal political persecution pic.twitter.com/zG47eYsii4
In 2021, it was revealed that US and British spies collaborated in a rumored White House conspiracy to assassinate Assange on the streets of London.
Simultaneously, a UK court ruled that Assange should not be extradited to the United States, citing a real and "oppressive" risk of suicide, but the high court sided with the US after a two-day appeal hearing.
The High Court granted him permission to appeal extradition to the Supreme Court, but the Supreme Court must consent to hear the case before it can proceed.
The court's decision on whether or not to hear Assange's arguments might take months. Meanwhile, his health continues to deteriorate.
Nils Melzer, a UN special rapporteur, has termed his detention as "torture."
