On the 28th July 2022, approximately 150 people gathered on the Lawns of Parliament House in support of Julian Assange. The following speeches were recorded by Cathy Vogan from Consortium News
Senator David Shoebridge
“No Australian citizen should face over a century in jail for the crime of telling the truth”
https://twitter.com/Consortiumnews/status/1553200327821668352
https://youtu.be/pn3bH79qw1s
Senator Jordon Steele-John
“Julian Assange today should be a free man. He is a publisher. His organisation Wikileaks obtains & publishes, freely, information it obtains: the literal definition of journalism. It happens every day in newsrooms across the continent. It is the key pillar of democracy”
https://twitter.com/Consortiumnews/status/1553567217517600769
https://youtu.be/gU5ACuS6wL0
Andrew Wilkie MP
“I take this opportunity again to say to Anthony [Abanese], when you boil it all down this is about a Walkley award winning Australian journalist, who published hard evidence of U.S. war crimes, and in response the U.S. wants to get even.”
https://twitter.com/Consortiumnews/status/1553641730741657605
https://youtu.be/kAJAPjMNBHc
Senator Peter Whish-Wilson
“Julian Assange & wikileaks: the great truth-tellers of [the Iraq] war… If we let Julian Assange be extradited and he dies in a maximum security prison in the U.S., then we will get another war, and another one…”
https://twitter.com/Consortiumnews/status/1553696732931690496
https://youtu.be/6_cQYKeKXrE
Christian Lambang-Foyne (Amnesty International)
“The treatment that Julian Assange is getting and is likely to get, should he be extradited to the U.S., is degrading and inhumane, and that’s not something that Australia stands for”
https://twitter.com/Consortiumnews/status/1553837214034890752
https://youtu.be/DUp5CUfSeRk
Bridget Archer MP
“This is a question of mercy and compassion for an Australian citizen who has endured inhumane conditions and has suffered significant mental and physical challenges as a result of his ongoing incarceration due to this protracted battle”
https://twitter.com/Consortiumnews/status/1553851089979551744
https://youtu.be/GgfcBY0Bo48
Mary Kostakidis (on releasing a dove)
“Many years ago Julian Assange said if wars can be started with lies, peace can be started with the truth. The dove is the symbol of peace, justice and freedom. Our dove represents press freedom. Our dove is Julian Assange”
https://twitter.com/Consortiumnews/status/1553852634385174528
https://youtu.be/dJQmXBRAZAU
Dr. Monique Ryan MP
“He’s an award-winning journalist who has been convicted of no crime and I think we all know that he would not be in this position were it another sovereign power seeking to take him from the U.K.“
https://twitter.com/Consortiumnews/status/1553859914484699136
https://youtu.be/9foiMJB9bCY
Dr Sue Wareham AOM
“How can Australia credibly point to other nations and the war crimes that they commit, when we allow treatment of a man like this, who has simply exposed the crimes of our ally the U.S. in Iraq and elsewhere?”
https://twitter.com/Consortiumnews/status/1553872406510333954
https://youtu.be/ckE_08GgjLI
James Ricketson
“After 15 months in jail I was found guilty of espionage & sentenced to 6 years. 3 weeks later the guards told me I was being released immediately… I discovered shortly thereafter that Malcolm Turnbull, our then PM, had done a deal”
https://twitter.com/Consortiumnews/status/1553895473332641792
https://youtu.be/vMV6Y80vUqw
Julian Hill MP
“I understand the reasons from speaking to his legal team why Julian has to date refused consular assistance from the Australian government. It may be time that that decision is reconsidered because it is frankly very difficult for the government of Australia to get involved in these issues, and seek assurance and push assurance around health issues, when consular assistance has been rejected.”
https://youtu.be/RsLITLaUT8k
Gabriel Shipton
“Over 90 German parliamentarians are now calling for Julian Assange to be released… Germany are very concerned. Even the German government are very concerned about what Julian Assange’s prosecution means for their journalists.”https://youtu.be/gv2UA3XpJ-E
Kathryn Kelly (Alliance Against Political Prosecutions)
“It is clear that Julian Assange did not commit espionage… We urge PM Albanese to put an end to this persecution of an innocent courageous man and to speak loudly and clearly to the U.K. and U.S. governments to free Julian and drop all the charges. If the friendship between our countries cannot stand that, what is it worth?”
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