As the Biden administration continues to pursue charges against Assange for releasing classified U.S. documents, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) has announced that Gabriel Shipton, the brother of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, has been brought to Biden’s attention. He was invited as a guest to the President’s State of the Union address.
“It’s truly an honor to be Congressman Massey’s guest,” Shipton told FOX News Digital. “He has been adamant in his calls for Julian to be released from prosecution and has been very clear about what is at stake in the unprecedented prosecution of a publisher for sharing information in the public interest. I have to.”
Mr. Assange’s possible appeal challenging his extradition from Britain to the United States concluded last month at Britain’s High Court in London, where the Australian publisher did not appear for health reasons.
Assange, 52, is charged in connection with WikiLeaks’ 2010 publication of classified military documents leaked by Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning. Assange faces 17 charges under the Espionage Act for allegedly receiving, possessing and communicating classified information to the public, and one charge alleging conspiracy to commit computer intrusion.
Julian Assange’s US extradition hearing concludes in London, decision not expected until at least next month
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) will bring WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s brother, Gabriel Shipton (pictured), as a guest at President Biden’s State of the Union address. (Getty Images)
Biden is scheduled to deliver the State of the Union address Thursday at 9 p.m.
“This brings attention to the injustices that are being perpetrated against Julian Assange, and perhaps the president realizes that nothing will be gained by continuing this attack on the First Amendment. I hope they stop the attack immediately so they can get back to their people.” Children,” Shipton told FOX News Digital.
The charges stem from the Trump administration’s Justice Department’s 2010 release by WikiLeaks of leaked cables by Manning detailing war crimes committed by the U.S. government in Iraq, Afghanistan and Cuba’s Guantanamo Bay detention center. It was caused by The document also exposes cases of CIA torture and coercion.
WikiLeaks’ “collateral murder” video, which showed U.S. forces shooting civilians in Iraq, including two Reuters journalists, was also released 14 years ago.
Mr. Assange is being held at: London’s maximum security Belmarsh prison Since he was expelled from the Ecuadorian embassy on April 11, 2019 for violating his bail conditions. He had applied for asylum at the embassy since 2012 to avoid being extradited to Sweden on charges of raping two women. Sweden has not provided any guarantees to protect him from extradition to the United States. The investigation into the sexual assault charges was ultimately closed.
A British district judge rejected a U.S. extradition request in 2021 on the grounds that Assange was likely to commit suicide if held in harsh prison conditions in the United States. The High Court later overturned this decision after receiving assurances from the United States about his treatment, and the British government signed an extradition order in June 2022.
The February hearing could be Assange’s final appeal hearing in his bid to block extradition to the United States, but if the judges rule in his favor, a full appeal hearing could be held in the future. There is a possibility that the But if he loses this appeal, Assange’s only options are to European Court of Human Rights. The judges, who heard arguments during the two-day hearing, said it would take time to reach a verdict.
If Assange is extradited to the United States after exhausting all legal appeals, he could face trial in Alexandria, Virginia, and be sentenced to up to 175 years in a maximum-security prison in the United States. His supporters say he will not receive a fair trial if he is extradited.
“The U.S. government’s continued efforts to prosecute Julian Assange threaten the First Amendment rights of the American people and should be opposed,” Massey said in a statement. . “During my term in office, I asked President Trump to pardon Mr. Assange, and I was disappointed that it was not granted. President Biden should drop the criminal charges currently being pursued by the Justice Department.”Shipton “I’m happy for him to accept my invitation to participate in the State of the Union address.” ”
The Obama administration decided in 2013 not to prosecute Assange over WikiLeaks’ 2010 release of confidential cables, because it also needed to prosecute journalists at major news organizations who published the same material. is known as the “New York Times problem.”Former President Obama too Manning’s 35-year prison sentence commuted Manning, who was sentenced to seven years in prison in January 2017 for violating the Espionage Act and other charges, was released later that year after being imprisoned since 2010.
However, the Justice Department under former President Donald Trump later moved to indict Assange under the Espionage Act, and the Biden administration continues to prosecute him.
UK High Court hears arguments in Assange’s US extradition case without him present due to health reasons
Congressman Massey called on the Biden administration to drop the charges against Julian Assange. (Anna Rose Leyden/Getty Images)
Mr. Shipton’s State of the Union appearance led to a bipartisan letter that Mr. Massey and Representative James McGovern (D-Mass.) sent to Mr. Biden in November, in which Mr. This comes after the United States requested that the United States withdraw its currently pending extradition request and suspend all proceedings. Initiate prosecution proceedings against him as soon as possible. ”
The letter was signed by 16 members of Congress, including Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia. Paul Gosar, Republican, Arizona. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, DN.Y. Rashida Tlaib, Michigan. Ilhan Omar, Democrat, Minnesota. Cori Bush, Missouri. Ayanna Pressley, Democrat of Massachusetts, and Sen. Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky.
Massey has previously sponsored bipartisan legislation to reform the Espionage Act and protect whistleblowers and journalists.
Assange’s wife, Stella, said her husband’s life was in danger every day he remained in prison and that she believed he would die if extradited to the United States.
Last month, Alice Gilles Edwards, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture, said: called on the British government The United States is halting any possible extradition of Mr. Assange due to concerns that Mr. Assange would be at risk of torture or other ill-treatment or punishment if extradited. Irene Khan, the UN special rapporteur on freedom of expression, also said last week that Assange’s prosecution set a dangerous precedent for investigative journalism.
In January, a group of Australian parliamentarians wrote to British Home Secretary James Cleverley, calling for a halt to Mr Assange’s extradition to the US, citing concerns for his safety and well-being, and instead asking the British government to It called for an independent assessment of the risk of persecution.
Lawmakers in the United States and Mr. Assange’s home country of Australia made further efforts to demand Mr. Assange’s freedom last year, including an overwhelming push by the Australian parliament to ask the US and British governments to stop prosecuting Mr. Assange. This includes last month’s vote, which was supported by an overwhelming majority. A resolution calling for his release was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives in January.
UN expert on freedom of expression calls for prosecution of Julian Assange to be halted due to concerns over press freedom
Assange faces 17 charges under the Espionage Act for allegedly receiving, possessing and communicating classified information to the public, and one charge alleging conspiracy to commit computer intrusion. (Getty Images)
Mark Summers, one of Mr. Assange’s lawyers, said at a hearing last month that there was evidence that the Trump administration’s CIA was planning to kidnap or kill Mr. Assange while he was in the Ecuadorian embassy. The president said he was “requesting a detailed explanation.” Option to kill him.”
CIA under the CIA trump administration In 2021, Yahoo reported that Assange was suspected of plotting to kill him over the release of a secret government hacking tool known as Vault 7 that was leaked to WikiLeaks. The agency said the breach was “the largest data loss in CIA history.”
The agency is said to have consulted at the “highest levels” of the administration about the plot to assassinate Assange in London and acted on orders from then-CIA Director Mike Pompeo to produce “sketches” and “options” for the killing. There is. Yahoo reports that the CIA is also planning to kidnap and extradite Assange and has made a political decision to prosecute him.
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While he was at the embassy, the spying on Assange and his lawyer was exposed to the CIA. A judge recently ruled that a lawsuit filed against the CIA for spying on visitors can proceed.
Assange is the first publisher to be indicted by the US government under the Espionage Act, and many press freedom groups say his prosecution is aimed at criminalizing journalism.
In 2022, editors and publishers of US and European news organizations who helped publish excerpts from more than 250,000 documents obtained by Assange in the Cablegate leak – The Guardian, The New York Times, Le Monde , Der Spiegel, El Pais – wrote an open letter He called on the US to drop the charges against Assange.
