Julian Assange: The threat of extradition and politics behind it

 

The case against Julian Assange is as political as it is legal; where does it go from here? Plus, the social media influencers shaping Kenya’s election.

The High Court in the United Kingdom is debating whether Julian Assange can appeal his extradition to the United States. Press freedom advocates say handing him over would put journalists everywhere at risk.

Assange: WikiLeaks founder one step closer to extradition

 

The WikiLeaks founder suffers a setback in his legal fight against the US government’s extradition efforts. Plus, Turks turning to YouTube for their news.

A court in the United Kingdom greenlights Julian Assange’s extradition to the United States – Press freedom groups call it a “travesty of justice”, but the response from the mainstream media has been muted.

Kidnap or Kill: The CIA’s plot against WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange

 

Why isn’t the CIA’s plan to kidnap Julian Assange making more headlines? And a look at the complexities and nuances of translating literary work.

An exposé detailing the CIA’s war on WikiLeaks – a Trump administration plan to silence Julian Assange and the organisation – has been published. But like so much of the Assange story, it’s got nothing like the media coverage it deserves.

Julian Assange and WikiLeaks — story of a whistleblower | DW Documentary

 

The decision not to extradite Julian Assange to the US is unlikely to be the end of his struggle. For the past 10 years, a team of reporters has followed Assange and the WikiLeaks network.

WikiLeaks – public enemy Julian Assange

The Wikileaks revelations shocked the world, and co-founder Julian Assange shot to fame. WikiLeaks exposed U.S. army war crimes, the secret emails of top international politicians and controversial secret service surveillance methods. Assange’s relentless pursuit of total transparency has changed the face of journalism and given rise to much imitation, as well as fierce criticism. But it seems the spell has broken. After spending seven years in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, Julian Assange is now in a cell at Belmarsh, a maximum-security prison in London. In many ways, he is being treated as a terrorist. His health has suffered. The UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Nils Melzer has even referred to a "murderous system” designed to make an example of Assange.

On trial: Julian Assange and journalism

Julian Assange's trial and its consequences for journalism. Plus, prison journalism in the US.

On trial: Julian Assange and journalism 

We begin with the legal fate of Julian Assange. This past week saw the commencement of a court case that will determine whether Britain should extradite the WikiLeaks founder to the United States.

The US government has charged Assange for his part in the release of classified military documents - he's looking at a maximum prison sentence of 175 years.

Assange's advocates say he has little chance of getting a fair trial in the US and, if sent there, he could end up facing conditions amounting to torture.

It is a case against Julian Assange and, by implication, modern-day journalism.

Julian Assange: Journalist, publisher, info warrior ... spy?

The indictment of Julian Assange under the Espionage Act. Plus, the erasure of Palestinian history in Israel's archives.

The US indictment against Julian Assange

When WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was dragged out of the Ecuadorean embassy in London seven weeks ago, the site's editor, Kristinn Hrafnsson, told The Listening Post that the legal charges waiting for him in the United States were "just the tip of the iceberg".

Last week, he was proven right.

US prosecutors have expanded the indictment against Assange by another 17 counts, with the US Department of Justice now going after him using the 100-year-old Espionage Act.

Julian Assange: Within Washington's grasp? | The Listening Post

Is journalism at risk or is it personal? Plus, the Polish priest whose mini media empire packs a political punch.

Assange: Within Washington's grasp?

When WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was forced out of the Ecuadorian embassy in London last week, the debates that appeared on the airwaves, online and in print went to the core of what constitutes journalism.

Assange's supporters denounced his arrest as an assault on freedom of information; a potential threat for journalists around the world who expose secrets in the public interest.

Others maintain that WikiLeaks traffics in raw data, not news stories - that Assange does not deserve the legal protection that real journalists get.

Under arrest: The future of Julian Assange and WikiLeaks

The arrest of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Plus, the journalists who exposed Malaysia's 1MDB corruption scandal.

Under arrest: The future of Julian Assange and WikiLeaks

Six years, nine months, three weeks, two days after taking refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy, the impasse was broken when Julian Assange was dragged out of the building by British police in response to an extradition request from the United States.

When it comes to media personalities and stories about the news and journalism, there are few that come to mind that are bigger than Assange and WikiLeaks.

Assange stands charged with "a conspiracy to commit computer intrusion," and his extradition could have wider implications for journalists in the digital age.

Julian Assange: Charges in the US, trial by the media?

An apparent cut-paste error confirms a US indictment against the Wikileaks founder. Plus, patriotic cinema in Russia.

Last week, in court papers filed in the US, in a case completely unrelated to Julian Assange, there was a paragraph confirming that a secret indictment has been filed against the WikiLeaks founder. A supposed clerical error confirmed something that Assange had always feared, but that the US Department of Justice never admitted: it wants him in jail.

It's been more than six years since Assange was granted asylum at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London.

Digital Dissidents: What it Means to be a Whistleblower

An in-depth look at the most famous whistleblowers of the 21st century and what drives them to speak out.

For some, they are traitors; for others, heroes.

Whistleblowers such as Daniel Ellsberg, Thomas Drake, William Binney, and Edward Snowden; and hackers and activists such as the WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and the former British secret service agent Annie Machon, warn us about the complete surveillance of our society. 

They oppose intelligence agencies, governments and corporations. And for this, they are threatened, hounded and imprisoned. 

Why are they so committed? What drives them? And is there a collective motive?

Digital Dissidents is a two-part documentary that goes into the heart and experiences of what it means to be a whistleblower and the nature of the quests to disclose radical truths hidden from society.

Is WikiLeaks still relevant?

Whistle-blowing website promises to reveal more secret and "significant" documents before year's end.

It was once celebrated as a champion of transparency. But now 10-years old, WikiLeaks has lost a lot of friends. 

The whistle-blowing website serves as the world's best-known source for leaked government and intelligence information.

It's exposed corruption and misuse of power in many countries, including the United States.

But WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has become increasingly controversial over the past decade.

Critics say his site is manipulated by politicians, and the way it releases classified documents is irresponsible.

Assange has been hiding in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London to avoid possible extradition to Sweden, where he faces questions over allegations of sexual assault.

Wikileaks had been promising for more than a month to release information that they believed would damage Hillary Clinton's chances at becoming president.  Roger Stone a leading Trump campaign surrogate claimed that her campaign fail because of Wikileaks.

American conservatives had placed so much faith in Julian Assange's Tuesday press conference in London that they lived streamed it.  Instead of revealing any new and damaging information concerning Hillary Clinton he promoted his new book and Wikileaks tenth anniversary.

They were apoplectic.

Alex Jones stayed up overnight waiting for Julian Assange to destroy Hillary Clinton, and when it didn't happen, he went full Alex Jones: