[colliric]

https://apnews.com/article/julian-assan ... 8227a?s=09


Assange stays in the UK.

[Crantag]

Did the judge use air quotes when she made that statement?

[libertasbella]

Not wearing his mask correctly, either. How embarassing.

[Stardust]

"The court failed to take a stand for press freedom and journalistic protections.."

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is immensely relieved by the 4 January decision of UK District Judge Vanessa Baraitser blocking the United States’ attempt to extradite Wikileaks publisher Julian Assange, but is extremely disappointed that the court failed to take a stand for press freedom and journalistic protections. We disagree with the judge’s assessment that the case was not politically motivated and was not centred on journalism and free speech. This decision leaves the door open for further similar prosecutions and will have a chilling effect on national security reporting around the world if the root issues are not addressed.

Although Judge Baraitser decided against extradition, the grounds for her decision were strictly based on Assange’s serious mental health issues and the conditions he would face in detention in the US. On the substantive points in the case - in which the US government has pursued Assange on 17 counts under the Espionage Act and one count under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act - the judge’s decision was heavily in favour of the prosecution’s arguments, and dismissive of the defence.

The US government has indicated that it intends to appeal the extradition decision. Assange remains detained on remand in high-security Belmarsh prison, pending the judge’s consideration of his bail application on 6 January. RSF calls again for his immediate release, and will continue to monitor proceedings.

Despite extensive difficulties securing access - including refusal by the judge to accredit NGO observers and threats of arrest by police on the scene - RSF monitored the 4 January hearing at London’s Central Criminal Court (the Old Bailey), and has been the only NGO to monitor the full extradition proceedings against Assange.

[blackjack21]

I hope Trump pardons Assange just to piss off the establishment, and to take a stand for a free press.

[ingliz]

Assange stays in the UK

For now. The US is expected to appeal.

[late]

For now. The US is expected to appeal.

The entire process has to restart. We're talking years.

[ingliz]

years

Years that will be spent in Belmarsh.

Assange was denied bail this afternoon.

[late]

Years that will be spent in Belmarsh.

Assange was denied bail this afternoon.

I don't have a position vis a vis Assange. The smart move would prob be to forget about him. But, I don't much care that he is in prison, either.

[Patrickov]

https://www.foxnews.com/world/wikileaks ... enied-bail

Many (not most) comments on Fox News are delusional "patriotic" scums who want Assange to die in US prison, but one particularly catches my eye.

"The Judge denied Assange bail because she knows if he is out of prison some men and women in black will remove him and he will suddenly appear in a US Federal Court; if he is lucky."

It's some conspiracy theory that I actually agree. However, if this is the case, the United Kingdom is taking a risk of having a martyrdom happening in their place, and it can be ugly.

[Zagadka]

The lack of media coverage is a demonstration of how the US media views itself. It isn't an outside force reporting for the people, but an arm of the defense of the status quo.

What they dream of is another Trump or Iraq War to drive ratings.

[Patrickov]

What they dream of is another Trump...

If this is so they made a mistake for having him ousted.

[ckaihatsu]

I don't have a position vis a vis Assange. The smart move would prob be to forget about him. But, I don't much care that he is in prison, either.

Even ignoring Assange himself, the illegality of his detention, and the human rights abuse of his person, his case has far-reaching impacts on the practice of *journalism* / free speech, which is why he's such a cause celebre.

[ckaihatsu]

Yanis Varoufakis - 'They don't want to extradite Assange. They want to kill him.' _ DiEM25

#TheCanaryLive - Julian Assange Extradition Hearing Decision - What Next

[Stardust]

5th February 2021 marks the 5th anniversary of the public issuance of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention's conclusive findings that publisher Julian Assange has been arbitrarily detained, now for a decade.
To mark this noteworthy if sad moment, academics, legal practitioners and civil society will join Prof Mads Andenas ( former chair of UNWGAD) and other legal experts (TBC) in a FreeTheTruth discussion online.

[Stardust]

Our Friend Julian

A poetry reading by some of the finest writers, coming together for the #WordPressDay
as part of the Don't Extradite Assange Campaign.

[late]

Sign of the times, they don't trust us, and with good reason.

Extradition is often a tricky and difficult process, this may be as good a result as could be expected.

I have no illusions here, he was a Russian pawn, but at the same time, he threw some light in some dark places.

We like to think of ourselves as something special. But the grim reality of empire keeps reminding us of the truth.

[ckaihatsu]

Sign of the times, they don't trust us, and with good reason.

Extradition is often a tricky and difficult process, this may be as good a result as could be expected.

I have no illusions here, he was a Russian pawn, but at the same time, he threw some light in some dark places.

We like to think of ourselves as something special. But the grim reality of empire keeps reminding us of the truth.

A 'Russian pawn' -- ?

How so, exactly?

Aren't you diminishing the importance of his own activism with this kind of slur?

[JohnRawls]

Assange should be pardoned. I understand why it was needed to be done pragmatically speaking but this still makes the situation unacceptable. Free Assange!!

[late]

A 'Russian pawn' -- ?

How so, exactly?

Aren't you diminishing the importance of his own activism with this kind of slur?

It's hardly a slur if it's accurate. Which it is.