Issued on: 01/11/2019 - 16:19Modified: 01/11/2019 - 16:34

The treatment of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who is facing the threat of extradition from Britain to the US on espionage charges, is putting his life at risk, an independent UN rights expert said Friday.

Unless the UK urgently changes course and alleviates his inhumane situation, Mr. Assanges continued exposure to arbitrariness and abuse may soon end up costing his life, the UN special rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, Nils Melzer, said in a statement.

Melzer, who visited the 48-year-old Australian whistleblower in a London prison on May 9, nearly a month after his arrest at Ecuadors embassy where he had been holed up for seven years, has previously warned he was being subjected to drawn-out psychological torture.

The independent expert, who does not speak on behalf of the United Nations, has not met Assange since, but he told AFP in an email that his growing concern was based on new medically relevant information received from several reliable sources.

This information, he said, indicated that Mr Assanges health has entered a downward spiral of progressively severe anxiety, stress and helplessness typical for persons exposed to prolonged isolation and constant arbitrariness.

Life-threatening

While the precise evolution is difficult to predict with certainty, this pattern of symptoms can quickly develop into a life threatening situation involving cardiovascular breakdown or nervous collapse, he warned.

In Fridays statement, Melzer pointed out that he in May had demanded that London immediately take measures to protect Assanges health and dignity.

However, what we have seen from the UK Government is outright contempt for Mr. Assanges rights and integrity, he said.

Despite the medical urgency of my appeal, and the seriousness of the alleged violations, the UK has not undertaken any measures of investigation, prevention and redress required under international law, he charged.

Assange continues to be detained under oppressive conditions of isolation and surveillance, not justified by his detention status, he said.

His statement pointed out that Assange had completed his prison sentence for violating his British bail terms in 2012 and was now being held exclusively in relation to the pending extradition request from the United States.

Assange is facing the extradition request by the US over charges he violated the US Espionage Act by publishing a huge cache of military and diplomatic files in 2010.

While the US Government prosecutes Mr. Assange for publishing information about serious human rights violations, including torture and murder, the officials responsible for these crimes continue to enjoy impunity, Melzer said.

He also decried that despite the complexity of the proceedings against him led by the worlds most powerful Government, Mr. Assanges access to legal counsel and documents has been severely obstructed.

This, he said, had effectively undermined his most fundamental right to prepare his defence.

In his appeal, Melzer urged London to bar Assanges extradition to the US, and demanded that he be promptly released and allowed to recover his health and rebuild his personal and professional life.

(AFP)

Go here to see the original:
Prison conditions for Julian Assange are putting his life 'at risk': UN expert - FRANCE 24 English

By Kevin Reed 2 November 2019

Famed rock music artist Roger Waters gave an extensive and significant interview to the television network Russia Today (RT) on October 25 in which he denounced the continued illegal imprisonment of Julian Assange and reiterated his call for the freedom of the WikiLeaks publisher and founder.

Julian Assange, who founded WikiLeaks in 2006 and published extensive proof of US war crimes in the Middle East and other corruption around the world, is currently being held at Belmarsh prison in London. Although he has broken no laws and not been convicted of any crime, Assange is being held in advance of being handed overin blatant contravention of international lawto the United States to face 18 charges, including violation of the Espionage Act of 1917.

Former British diplomat and human rights activist Craig Murray recently published a blog post called Assange in Court where he described the condition of the journalist during the show trial hearing in Westminster Magistrates Court on October 21. Murray wrote: When asked to give his name and date of birth, he struggled visibly over several seconds to recall both. ... it was a real struggle for him to articulate the words and focus his train of thought.

Speaking from New York City on the RT program Going Underground with Afshin Rattansi broadcast from London, Roger Waters condemned Assanges persecution by the UK and US governments. They are clearly trying as hard as they can to kill him, he said. Julian Assange is becoming a warning to other journalists. If you tell the truth, particularly to power, we will get you and that is the message that is being transmitted.

When asked by Rattansi, You think that theyre going to kill him?, Waters responded: They are killing him.

Commenting on the dismissal of Assanges request to extend his extradition hearing for three months, Waters said: Im flabbergasted and horrified in equal measure. The proceedings a couple of days ago in that Magistrates Court were nightmarish. For that to be happening in an English courtroom makes me thoroughly ashamed of being an Englishman.

Waters went on to explain that the extradition treaty between the US and the UK does not apply to any political offenses or complaints: I dont know on what other grounds that they are trying to extradite Assange, but it is clearly a put-up job.

When Afshin Rattansi pointed out that the hearing was not even reported by the UK evening news, Waters discussed his appearance at a rally with John Pilger to demand the freedom of Julian Assange on October 2, outside the Home Office in London. He noted: I sang my song Wish You Were Here and I made a speech and John made a very good speech to the assembled 1,000 or so people. And Julians brother spoke to them as well as and there wasnt a single word in the Western media of a report of that protest. ... Were getting a very, very one-sided narrative here.

Waters then spoke about the reasons behind the persecution of Assange: Hes being railroaded, as I said before, as an example to others, to scare the s**t out of any other potential journalist who might stand up and speak the truth about war crimes and other things that our governments do not want to be reported. They want to keep all that stuff secret.

Assange is one of those essential publishers, and there are precious few of themwhich is why he is so precious to us allwho are prepared to take the risk of actually reporting the reality of our lives, to us, to we the people, which is our right to know. They are applying the heaviest possible penalty they can for him stepping out of line for doing his job as a journalist.

Rattansi turned the interview to the question of Assanges physical condition and explained that when John Pilger was on his program recently, he was visibly shocked about the appearance of Julian Assange not hardly being able to speak. Waters then replied: I wasnt in the courtroom two days ago, but Ive read Craig Murrays account of what happened in the courtroom and Craig Murray was devastated by what he saw...

He is exhibiting all of the symptoms, according to the accounts that Ive read, of somebody who has been subjected to torture in a routine way over many months, and he looks like people who come out blinking from the dungeon after theyve been tortured for many months. So, you can see that he is really frail and he is in real danger of them ending his life before they even get to an extradition hearing.

Moving on to broader historical issues in the persecution of Assange, Waters said: This makes an absolute mockery of the idea that we have the rule of law in the United Kingdom. You know, the Magna Carta might just as well not have happened. Because this just says, no, the lawthe Magistrates Courts and the lawis actually just a tool for whoever it is that rules as all, in this case the United States of America.

Thats why they were in the Magistrates Court pulling Vanessa Baraitsers strings and she was responding like a puppet and doing everything they wanted her to do and everything they wanted her to say, with a bit of prodding from the QC James Lewis who was representing the United States government.

There is no reason to doubt that the governments of the UK and the US would prefer the sudden death in jail of Julian Assange to the prospect of protracted court proceedings. The facts will be presented that he is innocent of the charges against him and that his activities were those of a journalist will be stressed to a world audience.

Everything that the authorities have done to Assangefrom false allegations of sexual misconduct and a campaign of vilification in the media, to his forced near seven-year political asylum inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London, to his extended isolated imprisonment at Belmarshhas been carried out in order to break and destroy him.

As Roger Waters has pointed out, the purpose of the assault on Julian Assange is to intimidate all others who would dare to stand up to and exposewith massive documentary proofthe war crimes and corporate corruption of US and British imperialism.

The working class in every country must urgently take up the fight to stop the extradition of Julian Assange to the United States and win his freedom. This is a central and critical task, as part of the growing struggles of workers and youth throughout the globe against austerity, war and the assault on fundamental democratic rights.

Follow this link:
Roger Waters on RT: The US and UK are trying to kill Julian Assange - World Socialist Web Site

Saturday, 2 November 2019, 11:27 amPress Release: Joint Press Release

PRESS RELEASE 01/11/2019:JulianAssange is the "canary in the coalmine"

Without Free speech there is no "press" and without thepress there can be no meaningful democracy. Why is it thatit is left to the Spanish to investigate the violations ofJulian's legal rights - in Britain?!

These abusesinclude: Surveillance (in aforeign embassy - which is a abuse of civil rights - andinternational law / legal privilege). Theft of evidentiary material (vitalto Julian's legal defence). Procedural"irregularities" (including, but not limitedto...) Solitary confinement -the length of which constitutes "cruel and unusualpunishment... (more than 15 days in solitary confinementis defined as torture United Nations)

Julian Assange is the target of a calculated, andprotracted campaign of injustices designed to torture himmentally and physically intended to render him, and thosethat might be tempted to emulate him, into renouncing hisevidence of war crimes, and to condemn him to a life of"silent" incarceration - and possibly death in solitaryconfinement.

You shall know a tree by it's fruit-and the people who are behind these nefarious, clandestine- and illegal activities are - for want of a better word-evil!

If we as a free people allow our journaliststo be bullied, jailed -and tortured - what do we have tolook forward to in the not too distant future? Will ourepitaph be "First they came for the journalists, and I didnot speak - because I was not a journalist!?

Weimplore the New Zealand media to do everything that they canto bring the light of dayback to this story - as it is amatter of life and death - not only for Julian Assange butfor the free and democratic people of the world.

We are not interested in publicity - for it's ownsake -or for our own - we're simply trying to save a bravean important man from further suffering -and to preventfuture malicious misuses of power.

This Press Releaseis issued by spokespersons for the following groups:

#FreeAssangeNZ (700+) #Candles4Assange (750+) #OperationFreeAssange (1.4k+) #Unity4J(7.7k+)

Scoop Media

Scoop Citizen Membership ScoopPro for Organisations

See the article here:
Julian Assange is the "canary in the coalmine" - Scoop.co.nz

WASHINGTON President Donald Trumps team was very happy that Wikileaks released emails hacked from the Democratic party during the 2016 race, a former campaign official told investigators from the special counsels office.

Rick Gates, who served as Trumps deputy campaign chair, told Robert Muellers team last year that the release of the hacked emails offered a mode of deflection for the campaign after a sink in polling numbers following Trump's comments about Ted Cruz's father at the end of the Republican National Convention, according to interview summaries obtained by BuzzFeed News.

Cruz, a senator from Texas, refused to endorse Trump at the convention. Afterwards, Trump made a comment linking Cruzs father to President John F. Kennedys killer.

Gates also told investigators that the Republican National Committee had non-public information about the timing of the Wikileaks releases, but did not specify who at the RNC knew this information.

The RNC disputes this, saying it "had no advanced knowledge" of the releases. "Gates has already pled guilty to lying to federal authorities. Why would anyone believe him now?" RNC communications director Michael Ahrens told BuzzFeed News on Saturday.

US intelligence agencies have concluded that Russian intelligence services were behind the hack of the Democratic National Committee and passed the information on to Wikileaks, which the CIA has labelled a non-state hostile intelligence service.

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange announced in June 2016 that the group had an upcoming email leak related to Hillary Clinton, whose use of a private email server while secretary of state was under federal investigation at the time and who had previously deleted thousands of emails she deemed personal. But Gates, who spoke to Muellers team several times after agreeing to cooperate with the investigation, said the Trump campaigns interest in the emails was ratcheting up before Assanges announcement in April and May because it was likely the emails could help Trump's campaign.

Several members of the Trump campaign, including Manafort, Michael Flynn, Jared Kushner, Corey Lewandowski, Jeff Sessions, and Sam Clovis, had expressed interest in finding emails belonging to Hillary Clinton, according to Gates. Gates said Donald Trump Jr. would ask where the emails were in family meetings. As for the now-president, Gates said Trump was interested in the emails but remained composed with a healthy skepticism.

Meanwhile, the Republican National Committee was energized by Assange's announcement, Gates said, adding that he knew the RNC was going to run the Wikileaks issue to ground.

Trump and Kushner were initially skeptical about cooperating with the RNC, but the Wikileaks issue was a turning point, Gates told investigators.

Manafort had instructed Gates to periodically call someone whose name is redacted from the documents to check in on where the information was and when it would be coming, Gates told investigators. He also recalled a conversation with someone before the leak in which that person told him that Wikileaks would be releasing information.

Gates said a messaging strategy was being built in the June/July 2016 timeframe surrounding the upcoming release of information, the interview summary reads. [Redacted] was building this strategy with Manafort also involved.

Trump was generally frustrated Clinton's missing emails had not been found, Gates also told investigators.

At one point it isnt clear exactly when from the redacted documents Trump said get the emails while on his campaign plane, Gates said. Flynn, the former head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, said he could use his intelligence sources to obtain the emails and was adamant the Russians did not carry out the hack.

Gates said Flynn had the most Russia contacts of anyone on the campaign and was in the best position to ask for the emails if they were out there.

Once Wikileaks began releasing the emails, Manafort and another person whose name is redacted were happy from a communications team perspective because it provided an opportunity to deflect from Trumps attacks on Cruz. Trump was advised not to react to the releases and let it play out, Gates told investigators.

In a phone call after the release, Gates gathered that [...] there would be additional leaks coming. Gates thought this because shortly after boarding the plane Trump stated that more leaks were coming.

Manafort, who was getting pressure regarding [redacted] information, appears to have continued to instruct Gates to obtain status updates on upcoming information.

Among the hacked emails were many belonging to Clinton campaign chair John Podesta. Gates told investigators that there was a strategy to defend Manafort by attacking Podesta, with the idea being that Podesta had baggage as well.

Gates cooperated with investigators after pleading guilty to charges brought by the special counsel's team, while Manafort is serving a seven-year sentence behind bars.

Continue reading here:
A Former Trump Campaign Aide Said The Campaign Was "Very Happy" About The Release Of Hacked DNC Emails - BuzzFeed News

Once upon a time, there was a very bright little boy in Australia who grew up as stranger to conventional society. His mother went from husband to husband, from theater to cult, always on the eccentric margins, while the boys natural father was left behind. As an adolescent he found his own world in cyberspace, which offered a field for his insatiable curiosity. As he learned about that great world out there and its secrets, he developed his very own rigorous ethic: his vocation was to search for true facts and share them with the public. Living outside the usual social codes, his moral compass was uninhibited by the usual niceties. Truth was truth, deception was wrong, lies on the part of the powerful should be exposed.

The original sin of Julian Assange was the same as that of Galileo Galilei. Galileo sinned by revealing to the people things the elite already knew or at least surmised, but wished to keep secret from the masses, in order not to shake the peoples faith in the official truth. Assange did the same thing with the formation of WikiLeaks The official version of reality was challenged. All lies should be exposed. By far the most sensitive targets of his wide-ranging reality revelations were the lies, the hypocrisy, the inhuman brutality of the United States in its wars of global hegemony. To Assange, these things were simply wrong.

At first, WikiLeaks attracted a great deal of popular attention and even acclaim. Julian Assange became famous. He was a geek, but he didnt look like a geek. Tall, handsome, striking with his nearly white hair, Julian was something strange: a charismatic geek.

He arrived in Sweden with near superstar status. Swedish women contrived to get him into their beds. They bragged about having sex with Julian: he was a trophy lover. But the charismatic geek didnt know the social codes of the peculiar Swedish forms of virtuous promiscuity. This lacuna was exploited by his enemies in extravagantly unpredictable ways.

Julian Assange tried to straighten out what seemed to be a serious misunderstanding before leaving Sweden. But the Swedish side failed to make matters clear and he left for London.

In London, he was quickly taken up by the radical chic branch of the British upper class, the champagne and caviar humanitarians. The nave charismatic geek who didnt know the social codes no doubt thought he was among friends. He didnt belong to any political or social movement in the UK, he depended on the beautiful people who for a time found him an interesting outsider, one of their latest causes.

Julian Assange may have been socially nave, but he very acutely perceived what the imperial powers were working up against him. The totally unjustifiable demand for extradition to Sweden for questioning unjustifiable because they had declined to question him while he was there and then declined to question him in the UK appeared to Julian to be an obvious device to enable Sweden to extradite him to the United States, given the total obedience of post-Olof Palme Sweden to the wishes of Washington. Others didnt see this so clearly, except for the excellent President of Ecuador at the time, Rafael Correa. Correa offered Assange asylum in the tiny Ecuadorian embassy in London. Assange, unconventional, negligent of the codes, but with a clear view of the danger stalking him, jumped the bail set up for him and moved into the embassy.

This was the beginning of his alienation from the caviar humanitarians. At first the smart set defended him. Such glamorous personalities as Jemima Khan and Amal Amamuddin (not yet Clooney) initially defended him and then lost interest. He was not of their world. He did not know how to compromise, he was a geek after all, less and less charismatic as he faded in the shadows of the embassy of Ecuador. Its all very well to denounce lies and tell the truth, but one mustnt overdo it. Its delightful to have a cause when you have a solid social and financial background to fall back on, and when you know how to play the game so as to be in and out at the same time. Julian had none of those social graces. He was honest, intent, stubborn. He was incapable of hypocrisy, even in his own interest. He would not abjure, as Galileo did.

Such stubborn honesty on the part of someone who has nothing no family, no fortune, no social status, no political party, nothing but his stubborn devotion to truth is unbearable in a society based on lies. The media who profited from his scoops became the most zealous in denouncing him. No wonder: his honesty was a living reproach to the scribblers who had sold out all down the line, who get ahead by adding new touches to the mendacious "common narrative" required by the masters of their careers.

Lies were spread. Someone so honest must have hidden vices. He must be as bad as we are, or worse. The mob gathers. This man who knows the truth but not the social codes is an insult to us all, a freak, a monster, who must be destroyed.

The lynch mob is enormous. The media, politicians, even the judicial authorities. There are no loud shouts for blood but silent cruelty as the Anglo-American ruling Establishment shamelessly contrives to halt the last breath of the outsider who dared expose them for what they are.

Diana Johnstone is the author of Fools Crusade: Yugoslavia, NATO, and Western Delusions. Her new book is Queen of Chaos: the Misadventures of Hillary Clinton. The memoirs of Diana Johnstones father Paul H. Johnstone, From MAD to Madness, was published by Clarity Press, with her commentary. She can be reached at diana.johnstone@wanadoo.fr.

Go here to read the rest:
The Lynching of the Charismatic Geek - Antiwar.com