Thread: Julian Assange, on the Cross

He committed empire’s greatest sin. He exposed it as a criminal enterprise. He documented its lies, callous disregard for human life, rampant corruption and innumerable war crimes. And empires always kill those who inflict deep and serious wounds.


by Chris Hedges
Chris Hedges: The Execution of Julian Assange



What is at stake is both a courageous man’s life and, if we remain silent, the conquest of our intellects and sense of right and wrong: indeed our very humanity.


by John Pilger
John Pilger: The Judicial Kidnapping of Julian Assange




So Holroyde briefly announced to the world the capitulation to the United States. His argument was simple and short. The High Court accepted that Baraitser had rightly judged the expert evidence on Assange’s health, so the diagnoses of serious depression and autism stand. However she had erred in not seeking diplomatic assurances from the United States that he would be kept in conditions that would not trigger suicide. Holroyde’s argument rested entirely on the Diplomatic Note received from the US government containing these assurances. They constituted, he stated, a “solemn assurance from one state to another”, as though that were a thing of unimpeachable surety.Holroyde did not address the point that these were assurances from the very state whose war crimes and multiple breaches of international law Assange had exposed, resulting in this very extradition in the first place.

He did not address the fact that the United States has a record of breaking exactly these kind of assurances on prisoner conditions, and there is substantial European Court of Human Rights case law on the subject. In fact the legal force of diplomatic assurances has been the subject of a massive opus of recent jurisprudence that Holroyde simply ignored.

He did not address the fact that the very assurances in this Diplomatic Note were shot through with conditionalities.

He did not address the fact that repeated US court decisions stated that US domestic authorities were not bound by any diplomatic assurances given to foreign governments (which incidentally is precisely the same argument, accepted by Baraitser, that UK courts are not bound by the UK/US extradition treaty bar on political extradition).

He did not address the fact that the majority of the charges against Assange in the extradition request were now exposed as based on perjured evidence from a convicted paedophile and fraudster in the pay of the CIA, which some might see as reflecting poorly on the US authorities’ bona fides.

He did not address the fact that the government whose assurances as to treatment he viewed as unquestionable, had been plotting to kidnap or assassinate the subject of the extradition.

https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2021/12/your-man-back-in-the-public-gallery-assange-extradition-us-appeal-result/

^ Thankyou for that note of sanity, Sabang.

I see the fucking drunk is right back on it after getting his arse reamed in the prison showers.

(Murray, not sabang).

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

I see the fucking drunk is right back on it

Thank you for your clarification, I assumed you were suggesting BSnub.

The US government has won its appeal against a lower British court’s rejection of its extradition request to prosecute Julian Assange for journalistic activity under the Espionage Act. Rather than going free, the WikiLeaks founder will continue to languish in Belmarsh Prison where he has already spent over two and a half years despite having been convicted of no crime.

“As a result, that extradition request will now be sent to British Home Secretary Prita Patel, who technically must approve all extradition requests but, given the U.K. Government’s long-time subservience to the U.S. security state, is all but certain to rubber-stamp it,” writes Glenn Greenwald. “Assange’s representatives, including his fiancee Stella Morris, have vowed to appeal the ruling, but today’s victory for the U.S. means that Assange’s freedom, if it ever comes, is further away than ever: not months but years even under the best of circumstances.”

“Mark this day as fascism casts off its disguises,” tweeted journalist John Pilger of the ruling.

Media freedom plays an indispensable role in informing the public, holding governments accountable, and telling stories that otherwise would not be told. The U.S. will continue to stand up for the brave and necessary work of journalists around the world. #SummitForDemocracy pic.twitter.com/ilitbdzSd1
— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) December 8, 2021

This ruling which allows the US to continue working to extradite a journalist for exposing US war crimes comes on the final day of Washington’s so-called “Summit for Democracy“, where the US Secretary of State made a grandiose show about how press freedom “plays an indispensable role in informing the public, holding governments accountable, and telling stories that otherwise would not be told” and said “The U.S. will continue to stand up for the brave and necessary work of journalists around the world.”

This ruling also comes on UN Human Rights Day.

This ruling comes on the same day as two journalists formally received the Nobel Peace Prizes they’d been rewarded and demanded protections for journalists in their acceptance speech.

This ruling comes as the US government pledges hundreds of millions of dollars in support for “independent media” around the world in coordination with British state media.

This ruling comes after it was revealed that the CIA drew up plans to kidnap and assassinate Assange in the Ecuadorian embassy after the 2017 Vault 7 releases embarrassed the agency.

This ruling comes after it was revealed that CIA proxies spied on Assange and his lawyers at the Ecuadorian embassy, thereby making a fair trial in the United States impossible.

This ruling comes after it was revealed that the US prosecution relied on false testimony from a diagnosed sociopath and convicted child molester.

This ruling comes after recent investigative reports on civilian-slaughtering US airstrikes reminded us why it’s so important for the press to be able to conduct critical natsec journalism on the most powerful military force ever assembled.

The High Court has ruled that Julian #Assange can be extradited to the US. "How can it be fair, how can it be right, how can it be possible, to extradite Julian to the very country which plotted to kill him?" said Stella Moris. Mark this day as fascism casts off its disguises.
— John Pilger (@johnpilger) December 10, 2021

The facts are in and the case is closed: the US and its allies do not care about press freedoms beyond the extent that they can be used to conduct propaganda. The way journalists who offend the powerful are dealt with by the US government and the way they are dealt with by the Saudi monarchy differ only in terms of speed and messiness.

The masks are crumbling. Even when he is silenced, immobilized, locked up and hidden from public view, Julian Assange continues to shine a light on the abusive mechanisms of power. He is arguably exposing them more now than ever before.

As fascism casts off its disguises, it becomes more and more important to highlight the hypocrisy, fraudulence and depravity of the people who rule our world.

https://caitlinjohnstone.com/2021/12...its-disguises/

John Pilger

Originally Posted by DrWilly

John Pilger

aka Sabang.

An emotional Stella Moris has married Julian Assange in Britain's maximum-security prison HMP Belmarsh.





Moris' eyes filled with tears as she alone cut a vegan elderflower sponge wedding cake outside the prison in front of around 200 supporters and a large media pack.

"I'm very happy, I'm very sad," the 37-year-old said.

"I love Julian with all my heart, and I wish he were here.

"You know what we are going through is cruel and inhuman.

"The love that we have for each other carries us through this situation and any other that will come.

Latika M Bourke - 'I'm very happy, I'm very sad.' Stella..."He should be free," she said.

The Australian is in jail fighting extradition to the United States which wants to try him under the Espionage Act relating to the theft of hundreds of thousands of classified diplomatic and military cables that WikiLeaks published unredacted.

The Supreme Court has ruled that Assange should be extradited but further legal appeals are expected.

Assange, 50, says he is a journalist and whistleblower and while this has not been accepted in court so far, it is likely to be basis of further appeals his lawyers are set to launch.

Moris' mother Teresa and brother Adrian attended the wedding along with Assange's father John Shipton and brother Gabriel Shipton.


Assange and Moris' two sons Gabriel (four) and Max (three) also attended wearing matching purple and mustard kilts. The couple became engaged in 2017 but kept their relationship secret, including their two children, until April 2020.

Assange has been behind bars since April 2019, when he was thrown out of the Ecuadorian Embassy, where he had been living after seeking asylum to avoid being extradited to Sweden to face questions about rape allegations made by two women.

Moris' told this masthead in September 2020 that she planned to marry Assange in Belmarsh that Christmas but their wedding plans were repeatedly delayed by the pandemic and as they fought for permission from the prison governor to hold the ceremony.

While the rare permission to marry was eventually granted they were not allowed to have any photographs taken of their ceremony.
A Prison Service spokesperson said: "All weddings in prisons must meet the requirements outlined in the prison service policy."

Governors can refuse permission for photography if they believe the images will be publicly shared.

The bride wore a couture corseted coat dress in lilac duchess satin designed by Vivienne Westwood, one of the many celebrities who support Assange.

Assange wore a Westwood-designed waistcoat jacket and, in honour of his Scottish ancestry, a kilt made from Culloden Ancient tartan - the same worn by their two sons.

Dame Westwood said the Australian was a "pure soul" and "freedom fighter".

"We are a global war economy and the authorities have held and trapped Julian by laws which have avoided all due process," Westwood said.

"To me, Julian is a pure soul and a freedom fighter," she said.

Moris' tulle veil was embroidered with messages from the couple's friends and family with words that included "valiant," "faith" and the sentence "free enduring love."

A rose was sewn into the bodice so that the bride could have a fresh flower at her ceremony. Prison rules forbid her from taking in any items including her bouquet which contained fresh eucalyptus.

It was Assange's second marriage.

‘Very happy and very sad': Julian Assange marries Stella Moris in prison ceremony (msn.com)

Whereas in China anyone can publish state secrets on the Internet and nothing bad will happen.

Originally Posted by Shutree

publish state secrets

IIRC it was two or three "respected" international newspapers who "published", via paper copies and electronic means, the details of Assange's investigations. Have their owners been tried, found guilty and sentenced?


I suspect illegal actions by any national and local government ministers and their employees are not included in any countries' legislation. Quite the opposite.

"International rules" eh.!

Do you have any examples, to share with us, to substantiate countries that do allow illegal actions, by any national and local government ministers and their employees?

Originally Posted by Shutree

Whereas in China anyone can publish state secrets on the Internet and nothing bad will happen.

You must have known that would have jolted hoohoo into an incoherent, babbling whinge.

Dam shame, guys a legend and he had a threesom with 2 Swedish birds.

2 Swedish birds and a Chinese condom. What could possibly go wrong?

Anyway, notice how Bradley Manning has morphed into Chelsea (the actual leaker, and a US citizen and serving military), done her time and been pardoned. A Free femmale now, for several years. Juiian from Australia has been in Belmarsh high security prison, UK, for over three years now- following a number of years at the Bolivian embassy, and has never actually been charged with anything, and looks set to be there a good deal longer while the next set of Appeals goes through. Where is the clemency, as was shown to dear Chelsea? Where is the Humanity? Where is the bloody aussie government? We really are nothing but a colony.

Originally Posted by sabang

2 Swedish birds and a Chinese condom. What could possibly go wrong?

Anyway, notice how Bradley Manning has morphed into Chelsea (the actual leaker, and a US citizen and serving military), done her time and been pardoned. A Free femmale now, for several years. Juiian from Australia has been in Belmarsh high security prison, UK, for over three years now- following a number of years at the Bolivian embassy, and has never actually been charged with anything, and looks set to be there a good deal longer while the next set of Appeals goes through. Where is the clemency, as was shown to dear Chelsea? Where is the Humanity? Where is the bloody aussie government? We really are nothing but a colony.

Dat's racialist dat is

Originally Posted by sabang

2 Swedish birds and a Chinese condom. What could possibly go wrong?

Anyway, notice how Bradley Manning has morphed into Chelsea (the actual leaker, and a US citizen and serving military), done her time and been pardoned. A Free femmale now, for several years. Juiian from Australia has been in Belmarsh high security prison, UK, for over three years now- following a number of years at the Bolivian embassy, and has never actually been charged with anything, and looks set to be there a good deal longer while the next set of Appeals goes through. Where is the clemency, as was shown to dear Chelsea? Where is the Humanity? Where is the bloody aussie government? We really are nothing but a colony.

He has been charged, why do you think there are extradition proceedings underway?

Perhaps you're too stupid to know what "indicted" means.

You're as thick as skidmark.

And his time in the Ecuadorian embassy was of his own making.

Originally Posted by DrWilly

And his time in the Ecuadorian embassy was of his own making.

Tsk you and your pesky facts.

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

You must have known that would have jolted hoohoo into an incoherent, babbling whinge.

The truth hurts. Him, not me.

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

He has been charged

Ah, yes but is Canada a member of NATO? Has Russia really invaded Ukraine? Are there no Caucasian workers in HK that earn below USD124,545,745.00 like he did?

Corralling a ‘Troublesome’ Publisher

To his credit, Nils Melzer, UN Rapporteur for Torture, undertook his own investigation of the original allegations against Julian Assange and was able to use his fluency in Swedish to expose the dirty game played by the Swedish police to enable the nabbing of Assange, who has been deprived of his freedom for more than a decade now.

Melzer provides a wealth of detail in his recent book, The Trial of Julian Assange: A Story of Persecution. It is a gripping read; what follows by no means scoops it.
As early as Jan. 2021, Melzer revealed many of the aspects of the sordid story of how they "got" Julian. What follows is what he said:

I will go into two points more specifically, because they have been very prominent in destroying the reputation of Julian Assange. And the first thing I started out with really was the rape allegation in Sweden. Why was that so important? It is because well, first of all, obviously, rape is a grave crime. And so we need to, you know, take it seriously and look at those allegations. The second thing is, this was the turning point. [Emphasis added.]

These allegations were made in August 2010, just about three weeks after the big Afghanistan War diary was published by WikiLeaks… the biggest military leak in US history. And this was the turning point at which a success story (where I found he became more and more famous and celebrated for informing the world about the dirty secrets of states) turned, and it became a story of persecution. From that point on it was basically downhill for Julian Assange.

And so I really wanted to go back to that story, and look into this. And I was able to do that perhaps better than others, because part of my family is Swedish…so I actually speak the language and I was able to read a lot of original police documents and proceedings that are not accessible in the English language. And what I found was quite shocking. I found that Julian Assange had been in Sweden for a conference and he had had sexual contact with two women. And this is not contested on both sides, but it was consensual. And so that did happen.

In both cases, the women ended up having unprotected sex with Julian; the circumstances under which that happened are contested. But they did go to the police, both of them, these women, who knew each other, they went to the police, not because they wanted to report a crime, but because they were worried to have contracted HIV. And they wanted him to take an HIV test. And, and he had just said, well, I’ve taken one, so it’s fine, you don’t have to worry about it, I don’t have time.

The two women took it much more seriously, obviously, and wanted to push him and went to the police to ask whether they could force him to take an HIV test. That is very clearly documented in text messages that are available, that these women wrote to each other at the time and to friends by email.

That is the only reason they went to the police. And we can also see that the police immediately turned it around and said, "well, this is really about rape." And the women didn’t agree with that but they were informed that this was not up to them, that the state has an obligation to prosecute rape, and that they were going to make a rape allegation out of the rape investigation.

From that point on, you can see text messages between those women where they’re extremely stressed and say, well, we didn’t want this, we didn’t intend to do this, the police started it all, we didn’t want to be part of this, but now we have no choice. And so, what we can see is… that this doesn’t fit with the story that was spread by the authorities of women going to the police and complaining about rape. It looks much more like the police taking a case that had nothing to do with rape initially, but with unprotected intercourse, and potential HIV infection, and turning it around to use it to their advantage, which was to portray Assange as a suspected rapist.

Now, why would they do that? Sweden is a close ally of the US in Afghanistan, as is Britain, as are other countries and they all have been exposed by WikiLeaks. We should not make any mistake about this, established governments don’t like WikiLeaks, because it threatens their way of operating where they can basically do their business in secret and, very often, unfortunately, behind the backs of Parliament’s and even the public of their own countries. And when we see the types of things that that WikiLeaks published, it really embarrassed all these governments and, not only embarrassed them, but even brought evidence for war crimes and very serious cases of corruption and, and human rights violations.

Full Article- Bogus Charge of Rape Did In Julian Assange - Antiwar.com Original

Assange is a bit like the Red Bull heir, trying to hide out until the statutes of limitation are reached.

Too bad the sex case didn't manage it.

I'm sure there will be yet another appeal. They really should be making him pay the legal costs of all these spurious and pointless legal shenanigans.

UK approves Assange extradition to US

The British home secretary has signed an order authorizing the extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. The 50-year-old faces 17 charges of espionage and one charge of computer misuse in the United States.

UK approves Assange extradition to US | DW News - latest news and breaking stories | DW | 17.06.2022

Originally Posted by sabang

Assange, who has been deprived of his freedom for more than a decade now.

By his choice.

Bradley Manning has already completed her sentence.