Julian Assange's political, legal hopes
mercredi 3 avril 2024 à 04:55The US cannot assure Britain that that the First Amendment will apply to Julian Assange outside the US, because an old Supreme Court decision says it does not. This probably means that Assange's last appeal will proceed, and go on for a long time during the US election campaign.
The article contends that Biden's interest, as well as justice, argues for dropping the charges against Assange.
- To ask (even rhetorically) whether Assange has been "punished enough" is to normalize horrible abuse. The conditions that Assange has suffered in Belmarsh prison are too cruel even for the worst criminals. No one should be kept alone in a cell for 23 hours a day.
- Giving Assange a plea bargain would be better than trying him as a spy, but it is not enough for freedom of the press. The US should drop all the charges against Assange.
- The threat to the freedom of national security journalism in the US is a direct consequence of the Espionage Act. As long as it stands in its current form, it will tempt prosecutors and their superiors to prosecute journalists. We can struggle to keep the government resisting that temptation, but what we really need is to add a public interest defense to the Espionage
The concept of spying means reporting secretly to some entity. Public reporting about state crimes that Americans have a right and a duty to consider in their political activities is not legitimately considered spying.