Julian Assange has been imprisoned for 1586 days.
Dear Friends,
As we pass through summer 2023, this is the fifth such summer in which Julian Assange has been held at the UK’s most severe prison, HMP Belmarsh. For Julian’s family, including his wife Stella and their two young children Gabriel and Max, the wait to be re-united continues. With your support however we will continue to highlight the injustice of Mr. Assange’s imprisonment and help to keep the pressure building for his eventual release.
Public support is vital in securing Julian’s release – Julian has support from all sides of the political spectrum as well as the backing of all major free speech, human rights and press freedom organizations, but only when the political elites feel pressure from the public at large will they be forced to do the right thing in what has been a deeply political case from the very beginning.
As we continue to await the latest court hearing date it is more vital than ever to reach out to your friends, family and others to show their support, be that with actions, or writing to your MP or the Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, asking her not to allow the extradition of a publisher to the US simply for the act of publishing truthful information.
Julian Assange’s prosecution poses an “immediate jeopardy for journalists”, which would “render utterly hollow any protests raised by Joe Biden and Rishi Sunak about the treatment of journalists elsewhere in the world” according to the National Union of Journalists and IFJ’s Tim Dawson https://pressgazette.co.uk/comment-analysis/julian-assange-excuse-jail-journalists/
The support for Julian breaks through all party political boundaries. See here Peter Hitchens calling for the public to write, respectfully to the Home Secretary: https://twitter.com/TalkTV/status/1688505176146259968
-The Rt Hon Suella Braverman MP,The Home Office, 2 Marsham Street, London, SW1P 4DF
Julian Assange: "Every time we witness an injustice and do not act, we train our character to be passive in its presence and thereby eventually lose all ability to defend ourselves and those we love"
Despite serious restrictions and denial of visitations to Mr Assange, recently including representatives from Reporters Without Borders (in April), Mr. Assange was able this month to meet with the president of the International Federation of Journalists, Dominique Pradalié, who was able to visit as a ‘friend’ of Julian’s wife Stella
“Assange reports that he has a caged window in his cell, and a radio that allows him to keep up with the world outside. He does, however, request, that he be granted a typewriter, so that he may efficiently record his thoughts. He has lodged a request with the prison authorities that he be allowed one, but to date one has not been forthcoming”
You can read more here: https://www.ifj.org/media-centre/news/detail/category/press-releases/article/uk-assange-says-his-case-threatens-press-freedom
Further evidence has been uncovered in the ongoing Spanish case into the illegal spying on Mr. Assange and his lawyers. More than 250 extra gigabytes of files, previously unknown to investigators, were delivered to the presiding judge. Amongst the files a number of folders marked with the terms “CIA,” “Embassy” and “Videos,” along with other labels.
You can read a more through report from El Pais here, including background details on the massive surveillance operation mounted against Mr. Assange inside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, where he was the recipient of political asylum for seven years: https://english.elpais.com/international/2023-06-04/police-omitted-folder-called-cia-from-the-computer-of-spaniard-who-allegedly-spied-on-julian-assange.html
At the end of June Stella Assange and her two children were granted a private audience with Pope Francis at the Vatican. This momentous meeting once again shows that support and concern for Julian is far reaching and from every sector of society. In case you missed it you can read here the full interview Stella gave to the Catholic Herald after meeting with Pope Francis:
https://twitter.com/Stella_Assange/status/1675901256353587200
In July Ben & Jerry’s Founder Ben Cohen made a very public protest about Julian’s continuing incarceration in front of the US Department of Justice. “Julian revealed the truth, and for that, he is suffering, and that’s why we need to do whatever we can to help him and to help preserve democracy, which is based on freedom of the press”
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/ben-jerrys-founder-questioned-police-doj-protest
Throughout the world artists and activists continue to show their support for Julian Assange and demand an end to his unjust detention. In Julian’s home country of Australia, this striking mural was sprayed on the side of a building in the heart of Sydney. The artist responsible said “The hourglass is running out for Julian's hope for freedom”.
Positive actions that draw attention to Julian’s cause are needed now more than ever. Not everyone can paint a great mural in a high profile area, but all actions can help to bring Julian’s cause further publicity – and the more people that are aware of his outrageous treatment the more voices there will be calling for his release.
Finally, as we await the latest court decision, please make sure to reach out to friends and family and ask them to join this historic fight for justice – Let’s Free Assange!
Get ready to Protest!
Julian Assange is facing his last chance to stop extradition in a UK court. The Royal Courts of Justice have not released a date yet but we have to be ready to protest.
Place: Royal Courts of Justice, Strand, London, WC2A 2LL
Time: 9am BST
Our campaign relies on donations from the the general public.
Whether you can give £1 or £1000, your support makes a huge difference. We are raising to help us mobilize massive #FreeAssange protests similar to our Human Chain or the Night Carnival event.
Help us raise funds to keep the #FreeAssange billboard outside Belmarsh prison where Julian Assange is currently imprisoned - Join our Crowdfunder and donate now.
Sign this public petition to the House of Commons. We are collecting as many signatures as possible across the UK asking the House of Commons to urge the Government to take action. Sign Here.