Dublin activists along with The Free Julian Assange Campaign and concerned citizens took part today on a global campaign to highlight the continued illegal imprisonment of Julian Assange. Assange has been on remand without charge, at Belmarsh maximum security prison in Plumstead, south-east London, for approximately three-and- half years. The United States wishes to extradite him essentially for revealing highly incriminating material about US and Western war crimes in the Middle East and elsewhere.
One of the most horrific disclosures, but only one among many, is “WikiLeaks: Collateral Murder (Iraq, 2007)”, which can be found on YouTube. Assange could face up to 175
years — several lifetimes – and quite likely in solitary confinement, if extradited. It is important to emphasise that WikiLeaks, the whistleblowing organisation Assange founded usually does not know
its own sources and that documents are transmitted anonymously. Swiss Legal authority Nils Melzer, who has served as UN special rapporteur on Torture points out in his book The Trial of Julian Assange, that
“mere publication of classified information has long been recognised as a journalistic activity protected by international and constitutional press freedom guarantees.” The British Government should stop acting on behalf of its US Government and release Mr Assange immediately.
