Read Jaqueline Maley in The Age, usually a highlight.
I was disappointed.
She seems, like others, to conflate the campaign to shield an Australian citizen against the grip of US law with an idolisation of his person.
Assange has never put a foot on US soil and the accusations were a bit iffy coming from a country that makes so much noise about their freedom of speech, to say it politely.
It is true that he was accused of sexual assault in Sweden. What really happened (1/2)
There are probably at least 50 journalists - nearly all journalists of color working in the global south - that I would rank as more deserving of being freed than #Assange.
WikiLeaks has two giant legacies: an ongoing wave of transparency sites that work with journalists and the public, and an unending wave of geopolitical influence operations that try to launder stolen documents. My WashPost story today is free for nonsubscribers who cough up an email address. https://wapo.st/4bjRvHF#wikileaks#assange#ddosecrets
"The court today determined that there was no harm caused by Mr #Assange's publications. We know that they were newsworthy, that they were quoted by every major news outlet on the planet, that they revealed important information. That is called #journalism."
This is one golden comment on #Assange from Aleksandar Djokic, a political scientist often writing for Bloomberg:
I have to say I'm pleased with the Assange outcome. He should be free so he can start to openly shill for Moscow and Beijing together with Snowden. Why turn such people into martyrs, better for them to unmask themselves. I give him a month before he has his own show on RT.
Insel Saipan wird letzte Station für Assange in die Freiheit
Weiße Strände und blaues Meer - auf Saipan soll WikiLeaks-Gründer Assange mit einem Richterspruch zum freien Mann werden. Doch warum wird das entscheidende Urteil ausgerechnet auf der kleinen Insel im Pazifik fallen?
After years of imprisonment and fighting for his freedom, #Wikileaks founder Julian #Assange is finally free and reunited with his family in his home country of Australia. I am so happy for his entire family, who truly deserve this belated happiness!
Nevertheless, the US government has succeeded in criminalising for the first time the exposure of abuses of power and human rights abuses by the powerful. The Assange court conviction for "conspiracy to obtain information" will deter investigative journalism worldwide. As a reminder, watch this video in which Stella Assange explains the importance of our right to the truth. https://peertube.european-pirates.eu/w/sDD6jA1vmrFgWhZMMfg5ZY
Freedom of #Assange is IMMENSE news!💗 Still processing the multiple emotions: joy, relief, gratefulness.. and a bit of worry.
Sure it IS a reason to celebrate🥳
His unjust ordeal is (probably) over (for now). He walks out of this hellhole that is Belmarsh.
Now there are also reasons to be concerned🧐
The plea deal is nor public nor signed yet. It may contain tons of unjust clauses (gag order? etc.) and is still a strong political signal to deter further journalistic efforts like #WikiLeaks
Casual reminder that #Assange isn't a "journalist who revealed war crimes". Assange actively prevented publication of any documents incriminating #Russia or #Syria in war crimes and he actively distributed every single Russian fake to his multi-million audience after 2014. All these screenshots I made myself with wide open eyes and wondering "WTF is he doing".
Wikileaks-Gründer Assange kommt durch Deal mit US-Justiz frei
Mehr als zehn Jahre dauerte der Rechtsstreit um eine Auslieferung von Julian Assange an - nun darf er wohl in seine Heimat Australien zurückkehren. Hintergrund ist ein Deal mit den USA, der ein Schuldbekenntnis des Wikileaks-Gründers vorsieht.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is due to plead guilty this week to violating U.S. espionage law, in a deal that will end his imprisonment in Britain and allow him to return home to Australia, ending a long legal odyssey.
#Assange, 52, has agreed to plead guilty to a single criminal count of conspiring to obtain and disclose classified U.S. national defense documents, according to filings in the U.S. District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands.
In dem jahrelangen rechtlichen Gezerre um den Wikileaks-Gründer Assange gegen seine Auslieferung von Großbritannien an die USA zeichnet sich überraschend eine Lösung ab. Assange erzielte mit dem US-Justizministerium offenbar eine Einigung.
#Assange is preparing to plead #guilty to a single count of conspiring to obtain & disclose info related to the #NationalDefense in a US federal court in Saipan, in the Northern Mariana Islands …this wk, acc/to newly filed court papers.
Under the terms of the agreement, #Assange faces a sentence of 62 months, equivalent to the time he has already served at Belmarsh Prison in the UK while fighting extradition to the #UnitedStates. He is expected to be released & to return to his home country of #Australia following the court proceeding.
"The Slow-Motion Execution of Julian Assange Continues"
"The ruling by the High Court in London permitting Julian Assange to appeal his extradition order leaves him languishing in precarious health in a high-security prison.
Interview with Jesselyn Radack, whistleblower lawyer
An Assange extradition "would affect publishers, journalists, bloggers, anyone – me & you."
Assange remains detained in a high-security prison in the UK, facing extradition on "17 Espionage Act charges & a charge of conspiracy to commit computer intrusion for publishing about 400,000 classified US military documents exposing potential US war crimes in Iraq & Afghanistan."
ℹ With the potential #Assange deal being considered, and the disastrous affect of #Gaza on the #US#POTUS Joe #Biden's popularity, could the president be considering making 'a deal' with Edward #Snowden to outmanoeuvre #putin and boost the presidents flailing popularity?