Who Is Julian Assange?
Julian Assange is an Australian editor and activist, best known for founding WikiLeaks in 2006. WikiLeaks is a non-profit online “dead drop” for news leaks and classified information and has published more than 10 million documents since its inception. These include documents on the Iraq War, Afghanistan War, Guantanamo Bay, and even emails and documents related to the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
While Assange has received international praise and recognition for his work, including being awarded Amnesty International’s 2009 Media Award, he has also been attacked and investigated, even being called a “cyber-terrorist” and a “high-tech terrorist.”
In 2010, he was arrested in London on charges of rape and molestation. In 2012, he lost his legal battle against being extradited to Sweden to face rape charges and sought political asylum at the Ecuadorian embassy in London. He remained there until 2019, when his asylum was withdrawn, and he was arrested by Metropolitan Police officers for skipping bail.
After a lengthy investigation and consideration of charges since 2017, Assange was indicated by U.S. courts in 2019 on 18 counts of publishing classified information and violating the Espionage Act.
Mixed Opinions
While some have hailed him as a hero deserving of the Nobel Peace Prize, others have pointed out that Assange isn’t a journalist and does not deserve the same protections as one. However, despite the mixed opinions about him, one thing is certain – the U.S. case against Julian Assange signals a much bigger issue.
Sweden both, reopened and discontinued their investigation into Assange in 2019, but his extradition to the U.S. has been a cause of concern for many. Human rights’ groups have argued that delivering Assange to the U.S. to face 175 years in prison sets a dangerous precedent for press freedom and the right to freedom of expression.
Amnesty International has argued that the charges against Assange are politically motivated and can have a drastic effect on his fragile mental health. If extradited to the U.S., Assange could undergo torture, solitary confinement, and other human rights’ abuses. The International Federation of Journalists has called for Assange’s release and called sending him to the U.S. “tantamount to a death sentence.”
An Ongoing Battle
Although the U.S. extradition request has been denied by a British judge, Assange’s troubles are far from over. His bail application has been rejected and he remains in isolation. Even the UN has said that Assange has undergone 10 years of arbitrary detention and political persecution.
Therefore, handling him over to the U.S. is not an option – in addition to physical health concerns, Assange suffers from extreme stress, anxiety, and psychological trauma. To subject him to more is unacceptable and has grave implications for the future of press freedom and the importance of basic human rights.
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