Stefania Maurizi: FOI litigation starting in US. Docs showed UK calling shots in Assange Sweden case

On 16th April 2020, Stefania Maurizi presents on Consortium News

Documents obtained under FOI request by Italian journalist Stefania Maurizi, then working for La Repubblica, revealed that the UK’s crown Prosecution Service (CPS) were “calling the shots” in Assange’s Swedish case. Speaking at the ‘Free the Truth: Free Assange’ event on the anniversary of his incarceration, Maurizi describes her relentless pursuit of state documents to reveal the real goings-on between the UK and Sweden that locked Assange in to many years of arbitrary detention.

Initially responsive, Sweden gave Maurizi key documents that revealed the UK Crown Prosecution Service was giving instruction to the Swedes.

Maurizi says she has received “the tip of the iceberg” of documents, in response. Hundreds instead of tens of thousands, and none at all from critical moments, such as when Assange entered the Ecuadorian Embassy. When cornered (because the Swedes had revealed the existence of many more documents) the UK said they had deleted files. They also refused access because they only had hard copies, whereas the Swedes had declined because they only had electronic copies. Go figure.

Maurizi has been doing this FOI research at her own expense, because the major news outlets she worked for, she says with an air of amazement: “didn’t want to pay for this work”. Recently Maurizi received a grant to pay the five lawyers working with her (in the UK, US and Australia) frugal-to-no amounts for their services. “Just because they want to learn the truth. Because they want to honour fact.”, she explains.

Next week, Maurizi announces, they will extend the litigation from the UK to the US.

‘Free the Truth: Free Assange’ live stream courtesy of Deepa Govindarajan Driver, April 11 2020. Full conference on YouTube

The original document Maurizi have obtained under FOIA ( from Twitter)

Transcript on Catherine Brown’s Blog