A demonstration in London for Assange's freedom. - James Manning / Pa Wire / Dpa / EUROPA PRESS
From Lula at the UN to dozens of Australian MPs: International support for Assange is growing in the face of his possible extradition.
Published by PUBLICO / September 22, 2023 *** EMILIA G. MORALES@EMILIAGMORALES
From Lula at the UN to dozens of Australian MPs: international support for Assange grows in the face of his possible extradition. Latin American and Australian politicians ask the United States to revoke the extradition of Julian Assange and to drop the charges against the journalist.
The battle for the release of Julian Assange, founder of Wikileaks, is being fought in judicial, but also diplomatic instances. While the defense awaits the resolution of the last card played in the English jurisdiction and prepares the landing of the case in the European Court of Human Rights, different support groups for the journalist have intensified pressure on the U.S. government to revoke the extradition and lift the charges against him.
This has also resulted in a new wave of support for the Australian by politicians and other personalities in the international community. The 78th Assembly of the United Nations, which is currently being held in New York, has been the stage chosen by several Latin American leaders to express their support for the journalist.
The last one to do so was Xiomara Castro, president of Honduras since 2022. During her speech on Wednesday, September 20, Castro reiterated "the vehement call for freedom of Julian Assange, faithful defender of free expression, a principle that we must all defend".
Earlier, it was the president of Brazil, Lula da Silva who recalled in the opening speech of the 78th General Assembly of the United Nations, that "it is fundamental to protect freedom of the press", and that Assange "cannot be punished for informing society in a transparent and legitimate way". He also stated that "our fight is against disinformation and cybercrimes".
This is not the first time that the Brazilian president has spoken out in favor of the journalist. During his visit to London to attend the coronation of King Charles III, he stated that it was "shameful that a journalist who unveiled the traps of a State against others is condemned to die in prison and that nobody does anything for his freedom".
In August, the Minister of Information of the current Brazilian government, Paulo Pimienta, met with John Shinton, Julian Assange's father. The Latin American leader praised the cause of the Wikileaks founder and once again made explicit the support of Lula's government for the journalist.
Stella Moris, wife of WikiLeaks founder,said: "If Julian Assange is extradited, it will be the end of democracy".
Still, there are those who ask the Brazilian government to go a step further. At the end of June, several former Brazilian politicians and intellectuals asked the Latin American leader through a letter to grant political asylum to Julian Assange, "as quickly as possible". The letter was signed by almost 2,900 personalities. For the moment, the president has not pronounced himself on this possibility.
In parallel to the UN Assembly, a delegation of Australian politicians formed by members of the Labor Party - currently in power - and representatives of several opposition parties, met this Wednesday with several US officials and congressmen to discuss Assange's situation.
In a press conference granted by the Australians, the senator The Greens of Australia, Peter Whish-Wilson, stressed the diplomatic dimension of the judicial conflict that keeps Assange in prison: "We are the closest allies of the US. That relationship must be based on mutual respect and mutual trust. So, while we respect the U.S., I think we expect the U.S. to also respect us by listening to us and acting."
The Australian delegation's trip had been announced in a letter signed by 64 Australian ruling party and opposition congressmen and senators in mid-September, in which they again called for the journalist's release.
In the past year, support for Assange in his home country has also intensified to the forefront of diplomacy between the southern continent and the United States.
At the end of October, Anthony Albanese, Prime Minister of Australia, will travel to the United States to meet his counterpart, Democrat Joe Biden. The Australian hopes to discuss the issue at that meeting.
For the time being, some members of the Democratic Party have already shown themselves in favor of Julian Assange's release. In fact, five congressmen, including Alesandria Ocasio, Rashida Tlaib or Jamaal Bowman, signed a letter in early April in support of the journalist and in which they asked U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland to drop the charges against Assange, as well as the extradition request.
From the Pope to Leonardo DiCaprio
Stella Moris, Assange's lawyer and wife, explained in an interview to Público in early May that the journalist already had the support of the governments of Mexico, Argentina, Colombia and China in addition to that now ratified by Brazil, Honduras and Australia. According to what he explained to this media, Moris has also obtained the support of the German Minister of State for Culture and Media, Claudia Roth, with whom he met in May.
In addition to these contacts, he also met with Pope Francis on June 30 at the Vatican, although the content of the private audience was not disclosed. Already in 2021, the Pontiff sent Assange a letter of support.
Actors such as Leonardo Di Caprio or Danny Glover, intellectuals such as Noam Chomsky or Adolfo Pérez Esquivel - Nobel Peace Prize in 1980 - and organizations in favor of press freedom such as Reporters Without Borders or the International Federation of Journalists have spoken out on numerous occasions in favor of the man who exposed war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan.
This year, Assange has served his fourth year in preventive detention in the maximum security prison of Belmarsh (United Kingdom), waiting for the judicial or political route to keep him away from extradition.
