2012-05-25 Stand up for Julian Assange before it's too late

On May 23, Julian Assange attended a screening of "Shadows of Liberty" wearing a kevlar Guy Fawkes mask.

"This may be my last time in public, so I thought I should start with a situation where you won't be able to see me anymore."

The UK Supreme Court will decide whether or not Julian Assange is to be extradited to Sweden on May 30, at 9:15AM. The proceedings will be open to the public and will also be live-streamed via the Sky website. The judgment is expected to last around 10 minutes.

If the court rules to extradite Mr Assange, he will be sent to Sweden within 10 days. He can appeal further to the European Court of Human Rights, though this will not stop his extradition.

Julian Assange has not been charged with any crime in any country, yet he will have spent 540 days detained—10 in solitary confinement, and 530 under house arrest—by the time the verdict is handed down. Sweden is trying to extradite him for the purpose of questioning, but they have refused all offers to question him via telephone or video call, despite it being a completely legal method under Swedish law.

If extradited to Sweden, Mr Assange will be immediately placed in prison, incommunicado. He will be held in solitary confinement, which the UN Rapporteur on Torture stated amounts to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment in excess of 15 days. Since Sweden does not have a bail system, he will be held for an indefinite period of time. If charged, the following trial would be held in secret.

Julian Assange also faces the risk of being further extradited to the United States. Sweden has a "temporary surrender" mechanism in their extradition treaty with the U.S. which sidesteps traditional extradition safeguards. Sweden has not refused an extradition request by the U.S. since 2000.

It must be noted that Mr Assange is still at risk for U.S. extradition even if he is not sent to Sweden. Emails from the intelligence company Stratfor revealed that the U.S. has a sealed indictment against Julian Assange, and a secret grand jury on WikiLeaks has been active in the U.S. since September 2010. Both the UK and Sweden have refused to guarantee they will not extradite him to the U.S.

WikiLeaks is a non-profit organization created to help the people. As stated on their website, "Our goal is to bring important news and information to the public." Julian Assange's work with WikiLeaks has always been for the benefit of the people, not himself. It is time for the people to stand up for him.

"I think all of us are at our best when we are pursuing an ideal that we find to be important to ourselves and important to others. I feel that I have made my days count, so I certainly would not want to exchange days that can be counted for days that cannot." - Julian Assange

How You Can Help:

Donate

Julian Assange is faced with hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees, despite never having faced any charges. There are many ways you can donate to his legal fund:

- PayPal
- Credit Card
- Cash/Cheque
- Bank Transfer

Rally

Supporters will be at the UK Supreme Court on May 30, starting at 8:00AM (set up at 7:30AM). You can find out more about this event at the Veterans for Peace UK website.

Rallies are planned all over the world to support Julian Assange on May 30 and 31. See our list of rallies and attend one near you. If there isn't one in your area, establish your own and contact us with the information so we can add it to the main list. If you are near an Occupy movement, it is a good place to find people who can assist in organizing a support event.

Many of the rallies are planned at Australian Embassies and consulates around the world, a list of which is available at the DFAT website.

Build Community

Join Friends of WikiLeaks, a social network created to help build connections between people with similar causes.

There are many Friends of WikiLeaks groups around the world, which are organized by supporters who are ready and willing to assist you. Contact your local FoWL group for information on how you can help support WikiLeaks and Julian Assange. If there isn't a FoWL for your area, think about creating one yourself.

Spread the Facts

People must be informed about the injustices Julian Assange has faced, and the ones he could potentially face in the future. It is vital to spread the facts to the public.

SomersetBean has created many high-quality posters with facts and information about the case against Julian Assange, which are all available at his blog. Print them out and hang them in your city, or use them as placards during rallies.

Contact your local news agency and implore them to do an interview with you or a story on the case.

Ask your political representatives to speak out for Mr Assange. For Australians, there is a list of politicians, ranking them on their overall support for WikiLeaks and Julian Assange. For those in the UK, there is an excellent open letter you can send to your MP. This is one method that could actually prevent the extradition of Mr Assange, as many UK MPs are fighting hard for extradition reform.

There are many good sources for the hard faces of the case:

Justice for Assange
UK Supreme Court Agreed Facts of the Assange Case
Jennifer Robinson's Briefing to Canberra MPs re Julian Assange
Christine Assange's Talking Points
Common Misconceptions of the Assange Case

Be Creative

The possibilities are endless. Everyone has their own unique skills and abilities. Think of how you can apply your personal expertise to help Julian Assange.

2012-05-29 Press Release: Brisbane Rallies For Julian Assange

UPDATED WITH VIGIL INFO AND STATEMENT FROM CIARON O'REILLY:

Numbers are still growing for tonight's Brisbane #Rally4JA vigil from 4pm. Many thanks to Ciaron, Adele, Damien, Peter, Jimmy, Angela, Mark, Maggie, Carole, Razza, Kay, Cully, Martin, Phil, Janet and possibles Sean, AJ, Jim, Simon. Anyone else interested in joining contact Ciaron ciaronx AT yahoo dotcom or come along from 4pm outside DFAT corner Ann and Creek streets. There will be speakers and musicians from 5pm with the UK Supreme Court decision expected after 6pm AEST.

This Brisbane vigil joins in solidarity with the vigil in London outside the UK Supreme Court. It has been organised by former anti-war prisoner of the United States Ciaron O'Reilly, a Brisbane-born veteran protestor who has regularly assisted Julian Assange at court cases in the UK.

SOLIDARITY STATEMENT BY FORMER ANTI-WAR PRISONER OF THE UNITED STATES, CIARON O'REILLY

Brisbane born & raised Ciaron O'Reilly served time in a variety of U.S. prisons for his participation in the ANZUS Plowshares disarmament of a B-52 Bomber at Griffis Air Force Base New York USA 1991. In 2006, he was acquitted in Dublin, Ireland, as part of the the Pit Stop Ploughshares charged with $U.S. 2 1/2 million damage to a U.S. war plane at Shannon Airport en route to the 2003 invasion of Iraq. He has attended all of Julian Assange's court appearances in London.

"As you may be aware I have been based in London for the last 2 years and have returned to Brisbane, Australia in the last couple of days. For most of my time in London, my anti-war resistance focus has been accompanying the imprisoned Bradley Manning and the detained Julian Assange who are both facing the possibility of life imprisonment for exposing the nature of the wars millions of us marched against. Up to this point I have attended all Julian's court appearances from Horseferry Magistrates to Belmarsh Prison to the High Court to the Supreme Court.

"Throughout my years of imprisonment for non-violent anti-war activity, I have learnt the significance of simple acts of human solidarity to sustaining the spirit of the ant-war resister in chains or the docks.

"In London this Wednesday May 30th., Veterans for Peace UK, Catholic Workers & other anti-war friends will be setting the solidarity scene as Julian walks into the British Supreme Court. Should the Supreme Court rule to extradite Julian, many others will mobilise internationally the following day, Thursday May 31st.

"I have decided to link these efforts in my home town Brisbane, Australia by conducting an all night solidarity/ anti-war vigil from 4pm Wednesday May 30th (Brisbane time) through to the mobilisation on Thursday May 31st. These Thursday mobilisations in Brisbane and Australia are being called by Julian's mother Christine Assange.

"To VIGIL is is to stay awake! Many have fallen asleep in these long years of war on the peoples of Iraq and Afghanistan. Bradley and Julian have risked their entire life's liberty on the reasonable assumption that if only people knew the truth of the nature of these wars their governments continue to wage on the poor we would awake to their high crimes, the consequent massive human suffering and our responsibilities to the victims as fellow human beings.

"The military who are used by empire to wage the wars and the media who are used to market the wars have turned their torture and lies on dissidents Bradley Manning and Julian Assange.

"I believe, all of us who marched and acted against these wars in our millions in 2003, implicitly incited Bradley, Julian and others to non-violently expose and resist these wars. By doing so, we now have an implicit obligation to accompany Bradley, Julian, other brothers and sisters who now find themselves in chains as consequence of non-violently exposing and resisting these wars. Julian, Bradley & others are in chains and electronic tagged for us, we're on the loose for them!"

Ciaron O'Reilly,
Former anti-war prisoner of the United States government.

* * *

On Wednesday May 30th at approximately 6:15 pm Brisbane time, the UK Supreme Court in London will deliver a long-awaited verdict in the extradition case of Australian WikiLeaks founder and Editor-in-chief Julian Assange.

Protests in support of WikiLeaks and Julian Assange have been organised around the world (regardless of the verdict) including Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide, Newcastle, Townsville and Canberra. This press release provides details of the Brisbane protests, background on the case, and useful media contacts.

PROTEST DETAILS:

Protestors in Brisbane will gather on Thursday May 31st outside the office of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) on the corner of Creek St & 295 Ann St. Rallies are planned from midday till 2 pm and from 4pm till 6 pm.

An overnight vigil is being held at the same location in Brisbnae from 4pm Wednesday 30th May. This is being lead by Ciaron O'Reilly, a Brisbane-born international anti-war activist who has accompanied Julian Assange at court appearances in the UK. Further details of this vigil are provided below and in a separate press release.

THE CASE:

The UK Supreme Court verdict rests upon a specific decision on whether a public prosecutor has a right to issue a European Arrest Warrant. For more details on the case specifics, please see http://justice4assange.com.

If the appeal against extradition is unsuccessful, Mr Assange will be transported to Sweden within 10 days, where he will be held in solitary confinement and tried in secret. A final remaining avenue appeal to the European Court of Human Rights is unlikely to stop the extradition process. Once in Sweden, Julian Assange will likely be extradited onwards to the USA - Hillary Clinton is flying to Sweden this week and the Swedish government has never turned down a US extradition request (except where they could not locate the person involved).

Even if Mr Assange wins his case against the European Arrest Warrant extradition, however, it is likely that the US government will immediately lodge an extradition request with the UK government, and a new round of legal battles will commence. A US Grand Jury has been secretly gathering information on Assange and WikiLeaks for over 500 days, and Senior US politicians have called for Mr Assange to be assassinated or face the death penalty.

If Julian Assange is allowed to return home from the UK to Australia, extradition to the USA remains a very real threat. Australian Prime Minister Julian Gillard has refused to apologize for prejudicing any legal action by publicly declaring WikiLeaks "illegal", even though an AFP investigation found no crimes had been committed. On ABC TV's Q and A show recently, Attorney General Nicola Rixon also showed little understanding of the case and no interest in protecting Assange, falsely declaring he "fled from Sweden" (when in fact he was told by the Swedish government that he was allowed to leave before the case was re-opened by a new prosecutor).

The Australian government has recently changed laws to make extradition to the USA easier, and leaked documents show FOI requests are being refused even though the Australian Government has closely monitoring the US Department of Justice investigation into WikiLeaks for at least 18 months. More on the latest news:

Sydney Morning Herald: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/cables-reveal-australia-us-...

Statement from Greens Senator Scott Ludlum: http://greensmps.org.au/content/media-releases/new-leaks-show-our-freedo...

As the information above indicates, this UK Supreme Court verdict will not be the end of Julian Assange's legal problems or the widespread persecution of WikiLeaks. Therefore these worldwide protests will go ahead regardless of the outcome of the decision.

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Please contact any of the following people for interviews, or for more information about the Brisbane protests. (NB contact details provided to press but not posted online - please contact me @Jaraparilla of garylord AT gmail.com)

Cioran O'Reilly

A Catholic Worker and Brisbane-born international anti-war activist, Cioran has accompanied Julian Assange at his London court appearances and will be leading the vigil for him in Brisbane for him on Wednesday night from 4pm. See the separate Press Release for more details on Ciaron and his vigil, including a photo for media release.

Andrew Bartlett

Formerly an Australian Democrats member of the Australian Senate, Andrew recently campaigned for Brisbane Mayor with the Greens and has been a longtime supporter of WikiLeaks and Julian Assange.

Gary Lord (myself)

I do not officially represent WikiLeaks but I am one of many concerned and active supporters around the world. I have had several stories published at the unofficial WikiLeaks website https://wlcentral.org and my tweets and stories have regularly been re-tweeted by @wikileaks.
Email: garylord AT gmail.com
Twitter: @Jaraparilla

Adele Goldie

After many protests at places including Pine Gap, Adele has organised previous Brisbane rallies in support of Julian Assange and WikiLeaks and is active again this week.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION LINKS

Over 90 FACTS about the case from Julian Assange's mum Christine Assange: http://wlcentral.org/node/2486

Common Misconceptions about the Assange case: http://wlcentral.org/node/2554

Justice For Assange website: http://justice4assange.com

2012-06-07 Renewed call to support Julian Assange

On May 30, the UK Supreme Court ruled in favor of Julian Assange's extradition to Sweden, five to two. But Mr Assange's lawyer Dinah Rose QC - as an act of quick thinking which earned her The Guardian's "star of the week" - raised a point which was able to delay his extradition and potentially reopen the case as a whole. Since the decision was based on interpretation of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties - something not brought up during the February proceedings - Ms Rose argued that the defence hadn't the chance to properly contest the point.

Mr Assange's legal team has until June 13 to make an application on this matter. The Supreme Court will then decide whether or not to reopen the case. If reopened, the court will accept more submissions, either in document form or via further hearings. If not, the ruling will stand and Mr Assange will be extradited to Sweden within 10 days.

Julian Assange has spent over 550 days in detainment without charge. Sweden wishes to extradite him solely for the purpose of questioning, yet denies all offers to question him in the UK, despite it being completely legal to do so.

His battle is far from over and people around the world must continue to stand up and support him.

For further reading see Per E Samuelson's "Julian Assange's concerns are justified" (English translation here) and WSWS's "Defend Julian Assange".

How you can help:

Join Friends of WikiLeaks, the social networking website designed to bring people who share the missions and values of WikiLeaks.

Donate:

Julian Assange is faced with hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees. Alongside the unlawful financial blockade of WikiLeaks, his own personal bank accounts have been frozen. Donating to his legal fund is simple and can be done in a variety of ways:

• PayPal
• Credit Card
• Cash/Cheque
• Bank Transfer

Spread the facts:

After all this time, many newspapers still fail to grasp the basic facts of Julian Assange's case. Mr Assange made a submission to the Leveson Inquiry solely based on the innumerable times newspapers have falsely stated he has been charged.

SomersetBean has created many high-quality posters with facts and information about the case against Julian Assange, which are all available at his blog. Print them out and hang them in your city, or use them as placards during rallies.

There are many good sources for the hard facts of the case:

Justice for Assange
UK Supreme Court Agreed Facts of the Assange Case
Jennifer Robinson's Briefing to Canberra MPs re Julian Assange
Christine Assange's Talking Points
Common Misconceptions of the Assange Case

Contact your politicians:

For UK citizens, it is vital to contact your MPs, as they could potentially stop the extradition of Julian Assange if the Supreme Court upholds its ruling. Justice for Assange has posted a form letter addressing PM David Cameron regarding extradition reform, which they encourage supporters to send.

For Australian citizens, OzWikiWatch ranks politicians' support of WikiLeaks and Julian Assange based on public statements they have made. Those who have spoken favorably should be encouraged to go further and bring the matter to their colleagues.

Justice for Assange has further information on action that can be taken by citizens around the world.

Organize events:

Rallies took place worldwide after the Supreme Court handed down the verdict in Julian Assange's case. Australia saw speakers like former Guantanamo prisoner David Hicks coming out to support Mr Assange.

Rallies are a great way to bring supporters together and spread a message to the unaware.

To organize a rally, think about contacting a local Occupy movement or getting in touch with your Friends of WikiLeaks group, which span over 20 countries.

Supporters in the UK are planning a support event on June 13.

Get creative:

Every supporter has their own unique skills. Take your specialty and think how it can be applied to support Julian Assange.

The possibilities are endless!