On the 29th October 2022, John Shipton accepts the Roberto Morrione award in Turin, Italy. Yesterday in Turin, as part of the award named after Roberto Morrione, an exciting debate took place on the story of Julian Assange. As is well known, the Australian-born journalist risks being extradited from Great Britain to the United States … Continue reading “Roberto Morrione Prize: Assange is a master of journalism, not a public enemy”
On the 29th October 2022, John Shipton accepts the Roberto Morrione award in Turin, Italy.
Yesterday in Turin, as part of the award named after Roberto Morrione, an exciting debate took place on the story of Julian Assange. As is well known, the Australian-born journalist risks being extradited from Great Britain to the United States where he will be sentenced to 175 years in prison. A “monster” was built at the table, guilty of having stuck his nose in the arcana and omissions of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as in the reserved cables of the chancelleries or in the Guantanamo scandal. Whoever accused him – the president of the Federation of the Juliet press always remembers – goes around giving well-paid conferences, whoever has allowed to know the truth is in fact sentenced to death. Moreover, after thirteen years of via crucis, the psychophysical conditions of the founder of WikiLeaks are very worrying. In these days the defense college, of which Assange Stella Moris’s lawyer wife is a part, is awaiting the judgment of the English courts on the possibility of appealing the decisions so far favorable to extradition. Even if the way to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights remains open. The situation was explained well by the journalist and writer Stefania Maurizi, whose volume “The secret power” (the updated edition in English is out) was the point of reference for the counter-narrative. A long guilty silence has broken, while it is becoming clear that Assange is the scapegoat of a real repressive tendency: today he, tomorrow all and all those who do not bend their backs. Gian Giacomo Migone, former president of the Senate Foreign Commission in three legislatures, intervened on the same wavelength, adding a clear criticism to the whole of Sweden, where the judicial parable took place. The central event of the evening was the delivery by the President Carlo Bartoli of the honorary card of the Order of Journalists for his son to Assange’s father John Shipton. It was a moving moment, with the large audience standing to applaud: a small symbolic compensation in the face of a blatant injustice. Bartoli underlined how Assange’s feared defeat would set a very serious precedent for the right to press and freedom of information. Among other things, as reiterated in numerous Italian and European judgments, it is a journalist’s duty to publish public news without hesitation, in order to respond to the citizens’ right to be informed. In conclusion, Mara Filippi Morrione also spoke about it, the soul of the event dedicated to those who taught entire generations to consider journalism not only a profession, but also and above all a civil ethics. Assange was, among other things, appointed Guarantor by the audiovisual archive of the workers’ and democratic movement, as the writer announced. The “NoBabaglio Network” and the “Coordination for Constitutional Democracy” signed up to the initiative. Finally, some of the more than 80 videos of testimony for the freedom of the founder of WikiLeaks collected by the “My voice for Assange” Committee, coordinated by the Sapienza professor Grazia Tuzi absent due to indisposition, were screened. “Articolo21” will continue the campaign with incessant determination, a crucial step in this season of technical tests of authoritarian sovereignties.
They are unable to find any evidence that linking Julian Assange to Manning’s account.
On the 20th October 2022, Kevin Gosztola reports in The Dissenter on Chelsea Manning’s new book ‘Readme.txt’
In the United States government’s case against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, prosecutors claim that he communicated with US Army whistleblower Chelsea Manning through an encrypted chat client known as Jabber.
Prosecutors highlight several alleged exchanges between Manning and a username, or handle, associated with Assange. Yet they have never been able to definitively prove that Manning was chatting with Assange, and Manning’s new book, README.txt, further complicates their case.
Manning recalls in February 2010 that she told a chat room with individuals she believed to be associated with WikiLeaks that they could expect an “important submission.” She received a response from someone with the handle “office,” who changed their handle to “pressassociation.”
At this time, Manning had prepared what became known as the “Collateral Murder” video for submission to WikiLeaks. The video showed an Apache helicopter attack in Baghdad by US soldiers that killed two Reuters journalists, Saeed Chmagh and Namir Noor-Eldeen, and Saleh Matasher Tomal, a good Samaritan who pulled up in a van and tried to help the wounded.
…
In the indictment against Assange, prosecutors state, “No later than January 2010, Manning repeatedly used an online chat service, [Jabber], to chat with Assange, who used multiple monikers attributable to him.”
“The grand jury will allege that the person using these monikers is Assange without reference to the specific moniker used,” according to the indictment.
This illustrates the intent of US prosecutors to rely upon circumstantial evidence to tie Assange to the account, like they did during Manning’s court-martial. However, as was true during the court-martial, the government still cannot prove Assange was the WikiLeaks associate chatting with Manning under a “specific moniker.”
During a four-week extradition hearing in September 2020, Assange’s legal team had Patrick Eller, a command digital forensic examiner responsible for a team of more than eighty examiners at US Army Criminal Investigation Command headquarters, provide testimony to the UK district court. He had access to the court-martial record.
Eller said that he was unable to find any evidence that linked Assange to the “Nathaniel Frank” account.
Now, in a government affidavit from 2019, assistant US attorney Kellen Dwyer claimed the US has a witness that the FBI interviewed in 2011, who will testify that Assange used the pressassociation account. The witness is a woman who was “romantically involved” with Assange and met him in Berlin in 2009.
Dwyer also indicates that Siggi Thordarson, an FBI informant from Iceland who is a diagnosed sociopath and serial criminal, will testify that Assange used “pressassociation” as “one of his online nicknames.”
None of this featured in the extradition proceedings, and Crown prosecutors did not contest Mark Summers QC, an Assange attorney, when he had Eller address the lack of proof that Assange used the account that chatted with Manning.
On the 15th September 2022, Sabrina Pignedoli MEP reported in the Brussels Morning Newspaper regarding the nomination of Julian Assange for the Belgium, (Brussels Morning Newspaper) Julian Assange is first and foremost a symbol: the symbol of citizens’ right to know the truth. That is why I am very pleased to have managed to collect the … Continue reading “Nomination for the Sakharov Prize 2022 for Julian Assange”
Belgium, (Brussels Morning Newspaper) Julian Assange is first and foremost a symbol: the symbol of citizens’ right to know the truth. That is why I am very pleased to have managed to collect the necessary signatures, to nominate Julian Assange for the Sakharov Prize 2022 for Freedom of Thought. The Sakharov Prize, awarded annually by the European Parliament, is the European Union’s highest award in the field of human rights.
This nomination arise from the realization that his case and his detention are a representation of how power seeks to ‘punish’ those who do not conform to pre-packaged truths. With documents, films and concrete evidence, Assange, with his association WikiLeaks and in collaboration with the world’s leading newspapers, has allowed citizens to learn about horrific war crimes, arbitrary detentions, human rights violations and cases of torture unworthy of states that call themselves democratic. This journalistic work was carried out by obscuring sensitive sources and data, to avoid endangering those working in the field.
Assange could have sold the secrets he came into possession of, but he did not do so in the name of freedom of the press. This is why he is a defender of freedom of expression and protection of human rights. It was precisely to promote and preserve these values that the prestigious Sakharov Prize was established for.
“The judicial treatment reserved to him embodies an attack on these fundamental freedoms, of which the European Parliament, above all, is proud to be a constant defender. Regarding the case of Mr Assange, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights also recently intervened, denouncing how Mr. Assange’s possible extradition and prosecution raises concerns about press freedom and the possible chilling effects on investigative journalism and whistleblowing activities.
Assange’s case puts at the center of the political debate the issue of freedom of expression and the role of journalism in protecting citizens’ right to know the truth. If his case is not supported, the message to journalists, activists and citizens is extremely serious: that power can silence freedom of expression, the right to inform and to be informed. Assange’s nomination is meant to be a message in the opposite direction: democracy is not afraid of the truth.
On the 11th October 2022, Alan Jones reported in The Evening Standard The WikiLeaks founder now faces days being isolated in his prison cell Stella Assange told the PA news agency she is concerned for his health, which has deteriorated since he was sent to Belmarsh prison three years ago after being dragged out of the Ecuadorian … Continue reading “Julian Assange tests positive for Covid in Belmarsh prison”
The WikiLeaks founder now faces days being isolated in his prison cell
Stella Assange told the PA news agency she is concerned for his health, which has deteriorated since he was sent to Belmarsh prison three years ago after being dragged out of the Ecuadorian embassy in London
Mrs Assange said: “Julian was feeling unwell last week but started feeling sick on Friday. He started coughing and had a fever. He was given some paracetamol. He tested positive for Covid on Saturday, the same day thousands of people came out onto the streets to support him.
“I am obviously worried about him and the next few days will be crucial for his general health. He is now locked in his cell for 24 hours a day.”
Mrs Assange said she was overjoyed at the number of people who formed a human chain around Parliament on Saturday, estimating there were well over 5,000 in attendance.
It was the biggest event of its kind in support of the WikiLeaks founder, who has won support from human rights organisations, journalist groups and others across the world.
Last month, US lawyers and journalists who visited Assange when he was at the Ecuadorian Embassy said they are suing the CIA, claiming it spied on their private conversations in violation of the Fourth Amendment.
The Ministry of Justice has been approached for a comment.
On the 9th October 2022, Ford Fischer filmed Chris Hedges speech at the US Department of Justice “Merrick Garland and those who work in the Department of Justice are the puppets, not the puppet masters,” said Pulitzer-winning journalist Chris Hedges Saturday outside the DOJ. “The engine driving the lynching of Julian Assange is not here … Continue reading “Chris Hedges: The Puppets & the Puppet Masters”
On the 9th October 2022, Ford Fischer filmed Chris Hedges speech at the US Department of Justice
“Merrick Garland and those who work in the Department of Justice are the puppets, not the puppet masters,” said Pulitzer-winning journalist Chris Hedges Saturday outside the DOJ.
“The engine driving the lynching of Julian Assange is not here on Pennsylvania Avenue. It is in Langley, Virginia, located at a complex we will never be allowed to surround, the Central Intelligence Agency. It is driven by a secretive inner state, one where we do not count, in the mad pursuit of empire and ruthless exploitation.
“We cannot fight on behalf of Julian Assange unless we are clear who we are fighting against,” he then described as “A global billionaire class who have orchestrated a social inequality rivaled by Pharaonic Egypt.”
Merrick Garland and those who work in the Department of Justice are the puppets, not the puppet masters. They are the façade, the fiction, that the longstanding persecution of Julian Assange has something to do with justice. Like the High Court in London, they carry out an elaborate judiC.I.A.l pantomime. They debate arcane legal nuances to distract from the Dickensian farce where a man who has not committed a crime, who is not a U.S. citizen, can be extradited under the Espionage Act and sentenced to life in prison for the most courageous and consequential journalism of our generation.
The engine driving the lynching of Julian is not here on Pennsylvania Avenue. It is in Langley, Virginia, located at a complex we will never be allowed to surround – the Central Intelligence Agency. It is driven by a secretive inner state, one where we do not count in the mad pursuit of empire and ruthless exploitation. Because the machine of this modern leviathan was exposed by Julian and WikiLeaks, the machine demands revenge.
The United States has undergone a corporate coup d’etat in slow motion. It is no longer a functioning democracy. The real centers of power, in the corporate, military and national security sectors, were humiliated and embarrassed by WikiLeaks. Their war crimes, lies, conspiracies to crush the democratic aspirations of the vulnerable and the poor, and rampant corruption, here and around the globe, were laid bare in troves of leaked documents.
We cannot fight on behalf of Julian unless we are clear about whom we are fighting against. It is far worse than a corrupt judiC.I.A.ry. The global billionaire class, who have orchestrated a soC.I.A.l inequality rivaled by pharaonic Egypt, has internally seized all of the levers of power and made us the most spied upon, monitored, watched and photographed population in human history. When the government watches you 24-hours a day, you cannot use the word liberty. This is the relationship between a master and a slave. Julian was long a target, of course, but when WikiLeakspublished the documents known as Vault 7, which exposed the hacking tools the C.I.A. uses to monitor our phones, televisions and even cars, he — and journalism itself — was condemned to crucifixion.
The object is to shut down any investigations into the inner workings of power that might hold the ruling class accountable for its crimes, eradicate public opinion and replace it with the cant fed to the mob.
I spent two decades as a foreign correspondent on the outer reaches of empire in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and the Balkans. I am acutely aware of the savagery of empire, how the brutal tools of repression are first tested on those Frantz Fanon called “the wretched of the earth.” Wholesale surveillance. Torture. Coups. Black sites. Black propaganda. Militarized police. Militarized drones. Assassinations. Wars.
Once perfected on people of color overseas, these tools migrate back to the homeland. By hollowing out our country from the inside through deindustrialization, austerity, deregulation, wage stagnation, the abolition of unions, massive expenditures on war and intelligence, a refusal to address the climate emergency and a virtual tax boycott for the richest individuals and corporations, these predators intend to keep us in bondage, victims of a corporate neo-feudalism. And they have perfected their instruments of Orwellian control. The tyranny imposed on others is imposed on us.
From its inception, the C.I.A. carried out assassinations, coups, torture and illegal spying and abuse, including that of U.S. citizens, activities exposed in 1975 by the Church Committee hearings in the Senate and the Pike Committee hearings in the House. All these crimes, especially after the attacks of 9/11, have returned with a vengeance. The C.I.A. is a rogue and unaccountable paramilitary organization with its own armed units and drone program, death squads and a vast archipelago of global black sites where kidnapped victims are tortured and disappeared.
The U.S. allocates a secret black budget of about $50 billion a year to hide multiple types of clandestine projects carried out by the National Security Agency, the C.I.A. and other intelligence agencies, usually beyond the scrutiny of Congress. The C.I.A. has a well-oiled apparatus to kidnap, torture and assassinate targets around the globe, which is why, since it had already set up a system of 24-hour video surveillance of Julian in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London, it quite naturally discussed kidnapping and assassinating him. That is its business. Senator Frank Church — after examining the heavily redacted C.I.A. documents released to his committee — defined the C.I.A.’s “covert activity” as “a semantic disguise for murder, coercion, blackmail, bribery, the spreading of lies and consorting with known torturers and international terrorists.”
All despotisms mask state persecution with sham court proceedings. The show trials and troikas in Stalin’s Soviet Union. The raving Nazi judges in fascist Germany. The Denunciation rallies in Mao’s China. State crime is cloaked in a faux legality, a judicial farce.
If Julian is extradited and sentenced and, given the Lubyanka-like proclivities of the Eastern District of Virginia, this is a near certainty, it means that those of us who have published classified material, as I did when I worked for The New York Times, will become criminals. It means that an iron curtain will be pulled down to mask abuses of power. It means that the state, which, through Special Administrative Measures, or SAMs, anti-terrorism laws and the Espionage Act that have created our homegrown version of Stalin’s Article 58, can imprison anyone anywhere in the world who dares commit the crime of telling the truth.
We are here to fight for Julian. But we are also here to fight against powerful subterranean forces that, in demanding Julian’s extradition and life imprisonment, have declared war on journalism.
We are here to fight for Julian. But we are also here to fight for the restoration of the rule of law and democracy.
We are here to fight for Julian. But we are also here to dismantle the wholesale Stasi-like state surveillance erected across the West.
We are here to fight for Julian. But we are also here to overthrow — and let me repeat that word for the benefit of those in the F.B.I. and Homeland Security who have come here to monitor us — overthrow the corporate state and create a government of the people, by the people and for the people, that will cherish, rather than persecute, the best among us.
You can see my interview with Julian’s father, John Shipton
On Wednesday the 28th September, Assange Supporters are gathering to hear speeches and witness the State Parliament voting on a motion to Support Julian Assange Frank Pangallo – South Australian Best MLC has an extremely important motion being voted on that could potentially be the catalyst for life-saving actions to be taken in regard to … Continue reading “South Australia Vote to Free Assange”
On Wednesday the 28th September, Assange Supporters are gathering to hear speeches and witness the State Parliament voting on a motion to Support Julian Assange
Frank Pangallo – South Australian Best MLC has an extremely important motion being voted on that could potentially be the catalyst for life-saving actions to be taken in regard to Australian award-winning publisher Julian Assange. I am proud that South Australia will likely become the first State Government in Australia to move on such an important issue. This is not only an important motion for WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange but a brave stand to defend free speech, free press, our democratic right to know and to reclaim investigative journalism.
As we all know too well, Julian Assange has been in some form of arbitrary detention for over 12 years, just for speaking truth to power. It is time to end this extreme overreach of US governmental authority and move to release Julian Assange immediately. We believe wholeheartedly that it is in the best interest of our future generations and our great nation, that this motion is passed and acted on swiftly. Collectively, we will push forward with conviction and enthusiasm to bring Julian and his young family home to Australia safely. We hope that this can be realised by the end of 2022.
Speeches by: David McBride – Australian Whistleblower / former Australian Army lawyer Frank Pangallo – SA Best MLC Rex Patrick – Australian politician Stephen Kenny – Julian Assange’s Lawyer Tammy Franks – The Greens MLC
On the 22nd September 2022, Chris Hedges reports on ScheerPost and interviews John Shipton available on You Tube The persecution of Julian Assange is a window into the collapse of the rule of law, the rise of what the political philosopher Sheldon Wolin calls our system of inverted totalitarianism. A society that prohibits the capacity … Continue reading “Julian Assange’s Father on Looming Extradition and Imperative of Mass Resistance”
On the 22nd September 2022, Chris Hedges reports on ScheerPost and interviews John Shipton available on You Tube
The persecution of Julian Assange is a window into the collapse of the rule of law, the rise of what the political philosopher Sheldon Wolin calls our system of inverted totalitarianism.
A society that prohibits the capacity to speak in truth extinguishes the capacity to live in justice.
Tyrannies invert the rule of law. They turn the law into an instrument of injustice. They cloak their crimes in a faux legality. They use the decorum of the courts and trials, to mask their criminality. Those, such as Julian Assange, who expose that criminality to the public are dangerous, for without the pretext of legitimacy the tyranny loses credibility and has nothing left in its arsenal but fear, coercion and violence.
The long campaign against Julian and WikiLeaks is a window into the collapse of the rule of law, the rise of what the political philosopher Sheldon Wolin calls our system of inverted totalitarianism, a form of totalitarianism that maintains the fictions of the old capitalist democracy, including its institutions, iconography, patriotic symbols and rhetoric, but internally has surrendered total control to the dictates of global corporations.
I was in the London courtroom when Julian was being tried by Judge Vanessa Baraitser, an updated version of the Queen of Hearts in Alice-in Wonderland demanding the sentence before pronouncing the verdict. It was judicial farce. There was no legal basis to hold Julian in prison. There was no legal basis to try him, an Australian citizen, under the U.S. Espionage Act. The CIA spied on Julian in the embassy through a Spanish company, UC Global, contracted to provide embassy security. This spying included recording the privileged conversations between Julian and his lawyers as they discussed his defense. This fact alone invalidated the trial. Julian is being held in a high security prison so the state can, as Nils Melzer, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture, has testified, continue the degrading abuse and torture it hopes will lead to his psychological if not physical disintegration.
The U.S. government directed the London prosecutor James Lewis. Lewis presented these directives to Baraitser. Baraitser adopted them as her legal decision. It was judicial pantomime. Lewis and the judge insisted they were not attempting to criminalize journalists and muzzle the press while they busily set up the legal framework to criminalize journalists and muzzle the press. And that is why the court worked so hard to mask the proceedings from the public, limiting access to the courtroom to a handful of observers and making it hard and at times impossible for us to access the trial online. It was a tawdry show trial, not an example of the best of English jurisprudence but the Lubyanka.
It is imperative that those of us who care about a free press and the persecution of an innocent man, for Julian has not committed a crime, make our presence felt in the streets. I will be in Washington on October 8 with, I hope, thousands of others to ring the capital to call for Julians’ release, an act that will be replicated by protesters surrounding the British parliament the same day. Joining me from Mexico, where Mexican president Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has defended Julian’s innocence and offered asylum to the WikiLeaks founder, is Julians’s father John Shipton.
On the 17th September, Alex Willemyns reported in Morning Consult As WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange remains in extradition limbo, a new Morning Consult survey shows Americans, Europeans and Australians are far more likely to say the Australian national was “right” than “wrong” to shed light on U.S. government policies such as the secret surveillance of … Continue reading “Many in the West Support Assange’s Leaks, and Few Want Him Extradited to U.S.”
On the 17th September, Alex Willemyns reported in Morning Consult
As WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange remains in extradition limbo, a new Morning Consult survey shows Americans, Europeans and Australians are far more likely to say the Australian national was “right” than “wrong” to shed light on U.S. government policies such as the secret surveillance of American citizens, and few want to see him extradited to face espionage charges in the United States.
Melbourne Melbourne UN Peace Day rallyState Library of Victorianoon 18 SeptemberIt is lies that start wars and have brought the world to the brink of climate devastation. It is truth, and acting on truth, that can save us. Our theme for this UN Peace Day rally is Truth Not War. The event will be a broad-based, … Continue reading “UN Peace Day Rallies – Sept 2022”
Melbourne
Melbourne UN Peace Day rally State Library of Victoria noon 18 SeptemberIt is lies that start wars and have brought the world to the brink of climate devastation. It is truth, and acting on truth, that can save us.
Our theme for this UN Peace Day rally is Truth Not War.
The event will be a broad-based, inclusive, colourful and peaceful rally with speeches and music that celebrate Melbourne’s longstanding tradition of rallying for Peace, opposing nuclear weapons and arms buildup, respecting and protecting our environment and showing resolve in protecting peacemakers like WikiLeaks publisher and the recipient of the 2011 Sydney Peace Prize, Julian Assange.
In the words of Prime Minister Albanese: “Enough is enough!”
Join us at the State Library of Victoria. 11am – Music starts 12 noon – Speeches and more music 1pm – March down Swanston St to the British Consulate, 90 Collins St
On the 15th September 2022, Gabriel Shipton tweeted about John Shipton and he accepting the keys to Mexico City on behalf of his brother Julian Assange Editors Note: Mexico City has a population of 9 million. More than a third of that of Australia Further coverage in the ABC reports “The Mexican President López Obrador has written … Continue reading “Julian Assange Presented Keys to Mexico City”
On the 15th September 2022, Gabriel Shipton tweeted about John Shipton and he accepting the keys to Mexico City on behalf of his brother Julian Assange
Editors Note: Mexico City has a population of 9 million. More than a third of that of Australia
Mexico City governor @Claudiashein just gave the keys to the city to Julian Assange. John and I accepted on Julians behalf. The last week in Mexico has been filled with love for Julian…his work has changed so many lives here. pic.twitter.com/8QvnXY1KwE
“The Mexican President López Obrador has written multiple times to Joe Biden, calling for the prosecution against Julian to be dropped,” Gabriel Shipton told the ABC.
“He has also offered Julian asylum in Mexico.
“He met with [US] Secretary of State [Antony] Blinken a couple of days ago, and also in that meeting discussed Julian’s freedom and how to get Julian out of prison.”
His family is continuing to pressure Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to intervene in the case.
“There’s this expectation in the electorate in Australia that Anthony Albanese, the Prime Minister, is going to actually do something to end Julian’s persecution,” Mr Shipton said.
“I’m beginning to sense that there’s a bit of disappointment after a hundred days of government that the Albanese Government hasn’t been able to act to free Julian.”
Gabriel Shipton said he wanted to see the case resolved and his brother freed before the end of the year.
“If the Australian government can manage that, I think that would be a Christmas miracle for us,” he said “We take a lot of energy from the growing wave of support around the world for Julian’s freedom.”
Also covered in The Associated Press
This week the objective was to insert mention of Julian Assange into a meeting between Mexico’s president and the United States’ top diplomat. Next week, it will be to have Australia’s prime minister bring it up with the U.S. president at Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral
“We call President López Obrador an ice-breaker,” because afterward the leaders of Chile, Colombia and Bolivia called for his release too, Gabriel Shipton said during the visit to Mexico. Among a packed scheduled of events, John Shipton received the key to the capital Wednesday on behalf of Assange, a ceremonial honor the city bestows on distinguished guests. The day before, he addressed Mexico’s Senate.
President of Mexico Andrés Manuel López Obrador demanding the release of Julian Assange
This is extraordinary: On Mexico's independence day President @lopezobrador_ calls on Biden to #FreeAssangeNOW. Mexico has shown Julian profound generosity, solidarity, humanity. It is the opposite of the suffering and inhumanity inflicted on him for so long. Thank you.#Assangepic.twitter.com/kOwYATDMqy
