On 24 Feb 2020, 01:22, Bridges for Media Freedom <bridges4media@icloud.com> wrote:
Email: contact@bridgesforfreedom.media
Phone: + 44 7717 618138 (Naomi) / +44 7501 673109** Under embargo until 03.00 GMT on Monday 24 February **
Parliamentarians travel to London to monitor Assange extradition
hearing* Delegations from Germany, Italy and the European Parliament will be
in court on Monday; 10 seats have been set aside for political monitors
in Woolwich Crown Court* 33 parliamentarians from twelve different European countries have
joined the initiative, the largest of its kind ever seen in the UK* Bridges for Media Freedom launches the Assange Court Report and will
issue twice-daily updates from the hearing33 parliamentarians from twelve different European countries have
committed to monitor the Julian Assange extradition case which is due
to begin in London this Monday, 24 February. WikiLeaks publisher Julian
Assange is fighting extradition to the United States in an
unprecedented Espionage Act prosecution for journalistic activity.The monitoring group, which is organised by the freedom of expression
project Bridges for Media Freedom includes parliamentarians from
Belgium, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, Greece, Ireland,
Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain and the United Kingdom.The initiative, which also includes international NGOs Reporters
Without Borders and International PEN, legal experts and medics is the
largest of its kind ever put together in the United Kingdom.In response to a series of letters which European politicians have
written to the UK Ministry of Justice since November last year,
Woolwich Crown Court has set ten seats aside for political monitors in
the court’s media annexe.– “He is to be buried alive in prison”
Die LINKE MPs Sevim Dagdelen and Heike Hänsel, both members of the
Foreign Affairs Committee in the German Parliament, will be attending
the Assange extradition hearing every day this week.They said:
“Following the massive manipulations by the Swedish police and judicial
authorities in the prosecution of Julian Assange, international
monitoring by observers of the extradition proceedings brought by the
USA against the journalist and founder of Wikileaks is more urgent than
ever.“The reports about the impunity offered by US President Donald Trump to
Julian Assange in return for the assurance that the publication of
confidential documents of the Democratic Party in the 2016 presidential
campaign would have no connection with Russia underline once again the
political instrumentalisation of the case. After his refusal, the
journalist is now to be put on trial in the USA for publishing US war
crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan, where he faces up to 175 years
imprisonment.“The prison conditions, the restrictions on access to defense lawyers,
and insufficient access to documents and a working computer, do not
meet the conditions for a fair trial under the rule of law.“An extradition of Julian Assange to the USA, where he is to be buried
alive in prison, must be prevented. We demand the release of Julian
Assange on bail so that he can recover from the consequences of his
years of isolation in the Ecuadorian embassy and solitary confinement
in Belmarsh in terms of his health and be able to defend himself adequately.”– “we are joining the most authoritative institutional voices on human
rights”Italian Senator Gianni Marilotti, who is President of the Italian
Parliamentary Intergroup for Monitoring the Assange case, will be
attending court on Monday. He said:“According to the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Nils Melzer, Assange
has been subjected to sustained collective persecution, including
threatening statements and incitement to violence against him. These
and other human rights violations are not compatible with the
foundations of the European democracies, which gave themselves laws
based on the respect of the human being, a principle that will never be
negotiable.“The Council of Europe and its Human Rights Commissioner recently
joined Melzer’s appeal, since the use of the Espionage Act against a
publisher who is only accused of revealing real facts raises concerns
about the protection of those ones that publish classified information
in the public interest.“As the Italian Parliamentarian Intergroup for the monitoring of the
Assange case, we are aware we are joining the most authoritative
institutional voices on human rights and freedom of the press.”– “This case is a matter of democracy and human rights against secrecy
and impunity”Sira Rego MEP, who will be in court on Monday, said:
“We stand against the extradition of Julian Assange to the US because
democracy is at risk. We are talking about protecting basic fundamental
rights. The right of the people to know the true face of their governments.“The assassination of the Reuters cameramen in Iraq and the Iraq and
Afghanistan war logs showed the world how governments and especially
the US Government commit crimes against humanity with total impunity.
This case is a matter of democracy and human rights against secrecy and
impunity.“States, governments, international institutions must protect the
people who work for us to know the truth. It is not not only Julian
Assange’s life at stake today. It is Chelsea Manning’s, Glenn
Greenwald’s, Edward Snowden’s and everyone who, like them, work to make our societies more transparent and just.”MEPs Miguel Urban Crespo and Marketa Gregorova will also be in court on
Monday. Seven further parliamentarians will be attending court later in
the week.– Bridges for Media Freedom launches the Assange Court Report
Bridges for Media Freedom will be issuing twice-daily updates from the
proceedings. Reports, photography and video will be published on the
Assange Court Report website (https://assangecourt.report). Reuse of
this material is encouraged.Julian Assange has been charged in the Eastern District of Virginia
with 17 counts under the 1917 Espionage Act, all related to WikiLeaks
publications of 2010-11. He also faces a further conspiracy charge
related to journalist-source communications. EDVA is a judicial
district located in the greater Washington DC metropolitan area.—
Bridges for Media Freedom
https://bridgesforfreedom.media