Major press freedom groups have signed a letter asking Biden's Department of Justice to drop the indictment against Julian Assange. The letter was initiated by Freedom of the Press Foundation and signed by leading rights groups including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the American Civil Liberties Union, and Committee to Protect Journalists
The letter says:
"The indictment of Mr. Assange threatens press freedom because much of the conduct described in the indictment is conduct that journalists engage in routinely—and that they must engage in in order to do the work the public needs them to do. Journalists at major news publications regularly speak with sources, ask for clarification or more documentation, and receive and publish documents the government considers secret. In our view, such a precedent in this case could effectively criminalize these common journalistic practices."
Kenneth Roth, Executive Director of Human Rights Watch said: "Most concern activities that are no different from those used daily by investigative journalists worldwide. Criminalizing them would set a terrible precedent for a democracy."
Julia Hall, international secretariat for Amnesty International also noted that "the Biden administration can take this affirmative step to begin to restore respect for media freedoms."
On January 4, Judge Vanessa Baraitser blocked Assange’s extradition on medical grounds, and the U.S. has until February 12 to submit its appeal application. Then a High Court judge will review the submission, decide whether to grant the appeal, and then schedule oral arguments.