{"id":561848,"date":"2021-06-12T10:36:34","date_gmt":"2021-06-12T14:36:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=561848"},"modified":"2021-06-12T10:36:37","modified_gmt":"2021-06-12T14:36:37","slug":"julian-assange-and-a-clarion-call-for-freedom-u-k-politicians-call-on-biden-to-drop-charges-against-wikileaks-founder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/julian-assange-and-a-clarion-call-for-freedom-u-k-politicians-call-on-biden-to-drop-charges-against-wikileaks-founder\/","title":{"rendered":"Julian Assange And A \u2018Clarion Call For Freedom\u2019: U.K. Politicians Call On Biden To Drop Charges Against WikiLeaks Founder"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">38<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fjulian-assange-and-a-clarion-call-for-freedom-u-k-politicians-call-on-biden-to-drop-charges-against-wikileaks-founder%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=561848&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/GettyImages-685314508-1200x800-1.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\"  style=\"display:none\"><\/div>\n<p><span>A bipartisan collection of 24 British politicians have requested that President Joe Biden drop all charges against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, and that the U.S. rescind its demand for Assange\u2019s extradition.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cWe hope that your administration will become a staunch ally of all those working to roll back the shadow of criminalisation against journalists and others who exercise the rights enshrined in the United States by the Constitution\u2019s First Amendment,\u201d the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/dontextraditeassange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Assange-Biden-2021.pdf\"><span>letter<\/span><\/a><span> begins. \u201cYour administration, in partnership with the government of this country, has launched the campaign in defence of media freedom. It is in this context that we wish to raise with you the case of Julian Assange.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cAs President Obama\u2019s Vice President you played an important role in the decision not to prosecute Julian Assange over publications relating to the Afghan and Iraq wars and conditions in Guantanamo Bay. You, like us, must have been disappointed when your predecessor launched a prosecution carrying a 175-year sentence against a globally renowned publisher and free press campaigner for his 2010 award-winning publishing work, which was carried out in the United Kingdom,\u201d the letter continues, before outlining major groups which \u201cview the government\u2019s prosecution against this publisher with alarm.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThe Washington Post\u2019s Executive Editor writes that the indictment is \u2018criminalizing common practices in journalism that have long served the public interest,\u2019\u201d the letter says. \u201cThe New York Times Editorial Board considers it to be \u2018aimed straight at the heart of the First Amendment,\u2019 and for Amnesty International, \u2018the charges against him should never have been brought in the first place\u2019 because it is \u201cputting media freedom and freedom of expression on trial.\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The politicians then claim that \u201cThe chilling effect of this prosecution is keenly felt on\u201d on British shores. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThe National Union of Journalists and Reporters Without Borders have warned that \u2018Our government must ensure the UK is a safe place for journalists and publishers to work. Whilst Julian Assange remains in prison facing extradition, it is not,\u2019\u201d they write.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cEarlier this year Westminster Magistrates Court refused the US application to extradite Julian Assange to the US. The Guardian Editorial Board noted that your incoming administration \u2018can, and should, let Mr. Assange walk free,\u2019\u201d the letter continues. \u201cWe had hoped that this might be the occasion to draw a line under this prosecution. Unfortunately, the US Department of Justice is still pursuing this case, leaving Julian Assange facing a third year of incarceration in Belmarsh High-Security prison.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cMr. Assange, an Australian member of the press who had been invited to this country by The Guardian in 2010 to work on these publications on the basis of our robust free press traditions, is the subject of a US criminal case. The effect of your predecessor\u2019s decision to take a criminal case against a member of the press working in our country is to restrict the scope of permissible press activities here, and set a precedent that others will no doubt exploit,\u201d the letter concludes. \u201cThe case against Mr. Assange weakens the right to publish important information that the government finds uncomfortable. Indeed, this value is central to a free and open society. The case against Mr. Assange also undermines public confidence in our legal systems. Our countries are also increasingly confronted with the contradiction of advocating for press freedom abroad while holding Mr. Assange for years in the UK\u2019s most notorious prison at the request of the US government.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cWe appeal to you to drop this prosecution, an act that would be a clarion call for freedom that would echo around the globe,\u201d the authors write.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The letter was signed by 24 Members of Parliament, including the controversial MPs Jeremy Corbyn and Diane Abbott.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Assange is currently wanted in the United States, facing an 18-count indictment regarding charges of espionage.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span>The Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/subscribe\"><i><span>member<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A bipartisan collection of 24 British politicians have requested that President Joe Biden drop all charges against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, and that the U.S. rescind its demand for Assange\u2019s &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2280101,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/GettyImages-685314508-1200x800-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"Julian Assange And A \u2018Clarion Call For Freedom\u2019: U.K. Politicians Call On Biden To Drop Charges Against WikiLeaks Founder","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-561848","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/GettyImages-685314508-1200x800-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"Julian Assange And A \u2018Clarion Call For Freedom\u2019: U.K. Politicians Call On Biden To Drop Charges Against WikiLeaks Founder","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/561848","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=561848"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/561848\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2280101"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=561848"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=561848"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=561848"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}