<nettime> The extradition of Julian Assange

[Felix Stalder <felix@openflows.com>]

This is a really sad, though not unexpected, development. It's hard to 
avoid the parallels to Navalny's treatment.

Besides all the press freedom implication and one man's suffering, the 
vilification of Assange is the most successful psy-op I've ever 
encountered personally. It's appalling.


Felix




https://freedom.press/news/the-extradition-of-julian-assange-must-be-condemned-by-all-who-believe-in-press-freedom/

The extradition of Julian Assange must be condemned by all who believe 
in press freedom

Trevor Timm
Executive Director

Today

The British home secretary has formally approved the extradition of 
WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange to the United States, in the latest 
development in a dangerous and misguided criminal prosecution that has 
the potential to criminalize national security journalism in the United 
States.

Previously, a major coalition of civil liberties organizations, 
including Freedom of the Press Foundation, implored U.S. Attorney 
General Merrick Garland to drop the case against Assange in the name of 
protecting the rights of journalists everywhere. So, too, have the 
editors of major news outlets such as The New York Times and Washington 
Post.

By continuing to extradite Assange, the Biden DOJ is ignoring the dire 
warnings of virtually every major civil liberties and human rights 
organization in the country that the case will do irreparable damage to 
basic press freedom rights of U.S. reporters.

The prosecution, which includes 17 charges under the Espionage Act and 
one under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, covers events that took 
place more than a decade ago, but was brought only under the Trump 
administration — after the Obama Department of Justice reportedly 
considered charges but dismissed them for their dangerous First 
Amendment implications.

Reports suggest Assange may have at least one more avenue of appeal, so 
he may not be on a flight to the United States just yet. But this is one 
more troubling development in a case that could upend journalists’ 
rights in the 21st century.

You don’t have to like Assange or his political opinions at all to grasp 
the dangerous nature of this case for journalists everywhere, either. 
Even if you don’t consider him a “journalist,” much of the activity 
described in the charges against him is common newsgathering practices. 
A successful conviction would potentially make receiving classified 
information, asking for sources for more information, and publishing 
certain types of classified information a crime. Journalists, of course, 
engage in all these activities regularly.

There is some historical irony in the fact that this extradition 
announcement falls during the anniversary of the Pentagon Papers trial, 
which began with the Times publication of stories based on the legendary 
leak on June 13, 1971, and continued through the seminal Supreme Court 
opinion rejecting prior restraint on June 30, 1971.

In the months and years following that debacle, whistleblower (and FPF 
co-founder) Daniel Ellsberg became the first journalistic source to be 
charged under the Espionage Act. What many do not know is that the Nixon 
administration attempted to prosecute Times reporter Neil Sheehan for 
receiving the Pentagon Papers as well — under a very similar legal 
theory the Justice Department is using against Assange.

Thankfully, that prosecution failed. And until this one does too, we 
continue to urge the Biden administration to drop this prosecution. 
Every day it continues to further undermine the First Amendment.
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