Assange, his wife Stella at the Wired Next Fest: “The most dangerous attack on press freedom”
The human rights lawyer alongside her husband and founder of Wikileaks: "No matter what, if Julian is freed, we will have won"
ROME – Opening the second day of theWired Next Fest in Milan isStella Assange. From the stage of the Castello Sforzesco, the human rights expert lawyer, who supports her husband Julian Assange in his legal battle against extradition to the United States from the United Kingdom – where he has been in prison for over five years now – he retraces the stages of the ordeal: “Julian lost his freedom on 7 December 2010, a week after Wikileaks began publishing the Cablegate documents – he says – and now he is in prison maximum security facility for over five years, Belmarsh, London”. The battle “to free Julian is difficult, but politically we have gathered great support. Italy in particular – he continues – has been incredible, the activists here are extraordinary, I think they are an example for the rest of ‘Europe. Much of the political support we have received has come from grassroots movements. This has translated into political action,’ with current Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pledging to find “a solution to bring Julian home.”
At the end of May the High Court of London granted the founder of Wikileaks the possibility of appealing against the extradition order to the United States, since the American government does not provide sufficient guarantees that Assange would be subjected to a fair trial and would have been able to enjoy the First Amendment of the American Constitution. In the United States, Assange is accused of having disclosed military and diplomatic secrets with Wikileaks and risks up to 175 years in prison. “We recently achieved a victory. About a month ago, the High Court in London ruled that Julian will be able to appeal (against the extradition order, ed.), and on July 9 and 10 there will be a hearing where he will finally have the opportunity to present his reasons to the court”.
WIRED NEXT FEST, STELLA ASSANGE: “THIS IS THE MOST DANGEROUS ATTACK ON FREEDOM OF THE PRESS AT A GLOBAL LEVEL”
According to Stella Assange “the persecution of Julian is indeed the story of the persecution of a man and of a small and courageous journalistic project, but also the freedom of information in the internet age“, in a context of “increasing repression and censorship, as well as, in Julian’s case, abuse of the legal system to silence a journalist and incarcerate him“. The one against Assangeis also an attack on journalism. “The legal case against Julian criminalizes the activity of gathering and publishing information.” In the United States, Assange is accused of violating the Espionage Act, an old law against espionage, “but that’s just a label.” Espionage involves working on behalf of a foreign power, but that is not what the United States advocates. The United States accuses Wikileaks of having obtained information from Chelsea Manning – an insider within the US military – and having communicated it to the public. If you exchange the enemy, a foreign power, with citizens you are redefining journalism as espionage”, underlines Stella Assange. In short, it is an ‘old trick’ to criminalize journalistic activity, says Stella Assange, according to whomthe her husband’s case represents “the most dangerous attack on press freedom globally“, as it risks creating a precedent
WIRED NEXT FEST, STELLA ASSANGE: “HER PHYSICAL REALITY IS OF COMPLETE DEPRIVATION”
A passage of the interview is also dedicated to the current psychophysical conditions in which Julian Assange finds himself. “His physical reality is one of complete deprivation. He is in a tiny cell, where he spends an average of 22 hours a day. He has no access to the internet and limited access to the telephone. He can call me and a number of people pre -approved by the prison. All our conversations are recorded – says the wife – he only eats inside his cell. He can leave for five minutes to go get his medicine. He can go to the courtyard. , which is a small concrete space topped with a fence and barbed wire. This is where most of his interactions with other people take place, who are obviously other inmates.”
In other words, Julian Assange “has been cut off from the world in every way” and “is treated as if he were the worst criminal in the United Kingdom“, and all this despite currently “has not been convicted of any crime and is not serving any sentence”.
WIRED NEXT FEST, STELLA ASSANGE: “THE FUTURE NO MATTER WHAT, IF JULIAN IS FREE WE WILL HAVE WON”
As regards the future of the founder of Wikileaks, Stella Assange’s vision is clear: “I have to be optimistic. Despite the daily difficulties, I look at the political trajectory – she explains –. I believe that Julian will be freed”. And again : “No matter what, if Julian is freed, we will have won.” For the sake of journalism, however, “the only positive outcome is for the Biden administration to drop the charges or pardon Julian. Because if this political precedent is not cancelled, the damage is destined to remain“.