More than 300 politicians, diplomats and lawyers pen open letter calling for Assange’s release

On the 22nd September, Ruptly posted the video of Polona Florijančič

More than 300 world leaders, politicians, lawyers and academics called on the release of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange from prison signing an open letter, according to Lawyers for Assange member and legal researcher Polona Florijancic, London, Monday.

The open letter is addressed to UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and other government ministers and includes signatories ranging from Argentine President Alberto Fernandez to former Brazilian Presidents Dilma Rousseff and Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

“On the one hand we have a journalist who has exposed incredible war crimes and torture and corruption, on the other hand we have the embarrassed superpower that wants to prosecute him,” said Polona Florijancic, an independent legal researcher and member of Lawyers for Assange. “Currently, 190 lawyers and legal academics, judges and professors have signed this letter, including 19 lawyers’ associations, three of them with consultative status at the United Nations.”

“The prominent signatories from the politicians now are the heads of state. And here I would like to mention (former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis) Zapatero who is a lawyer himself,” Florijancic continued. “So, you can see again someone who knows exactly what he is signing.”

Assange has been behind bars in Belmarsh Prison since he was dragged out of the Ecuadorian Embassy in April 2019. He faces multiple charges in the US related to espionage. His trial on possible US extradition started on September 7.

Editor’s Note: The number signatories is now over 380

Open Letter: www.lawyersforassange.org/en/open-letter.html
Political Endorsements: www.lawyersforassange.org/en/endorsements.html
Legal signatories: www.lawyersforassange.org/en/signatories-all.html
Contact: lawyers4assange@protonmail.com