April 11th 2020 marks one year since the illegal seizing and arrest of Julian Assange from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London where he had been granted political asylum. Assange was bundled off to the maximum security Belmarsh, where he has been held in tortuous conditions ever since. It will be marked as “Free Julian Assange Day” and a global “virtual march” for Julian has been organised by Australian’s for Assange.
The last year has seen Julian held in jail first over “skipping bail”, a ruling which not only shredded the legal right to asylum but also ignored the fact Julian’s decision to seek asylum was completely validated by the unveiling of the espionage charges in the US. Then from September onwards Julian has been incarcerated whilst on remand on these charges.
Whilst in Belmarsh prison Julian was held for months in isolation on the “heathcare” ward, had his mail withheld from him and his replies blocked, denied access to lawyers and legal documents and had visits from friends and family interfered with.
He was then subjected to nothing more than an outrageous show trial in February during the first part of his extradition hearing. Julian was locked up in a glass cage at the back of the courtroom and could not even hear proceedings properly. Judge Vanessa Baraister would not even grant Julian the “right” to sit with his lawyers.
This same judge, working on behalf of the British ruling class and ultimately US Imperialism would not even grant bail on March 25th to Julian who has documented severe chronic health problems dying from the coronavirus. Since then thousands of prisoners in the UK have been released but not Julian Assange.
This catalogue of injustices have been heaped on Assange for doing nothing more than providing the world’s working class with evidence of the crimes of US Imperialism through his journalism with Wikileaks. Whilst the Democrats and Obama began and continued the persecution of Assange, the current attempts to extradite Assange are tied up with Donald Trump's, the fascist in the Whitehouse, war on the press and democratic rights and the continued drive of US imperialism towards world war.
It is worth mentioning that the last year also saw the incarceration of Chelsea Manning for refusing to perjure herself by giving evidence against Assange in a grand jury. She was only released, days after a suicide attempt, when the current secret grand jury against Wikileaks was wound up.
The last year however has also seen a response from ordinary people around the world to these attacks on Julian and democratic rights. Hundreds of thousands have signed online petitions in English, German, and other languages. Literally hundreds of protests have been held around the world, many under the umbrella of the “Candles4Assange” movement. Workers such as teachers have passed motions in defence of Assange. French yellow vest protestors have travelled by bus and ferry repeatedly to the gates of Belmarsh the courts of London. In short we have seen the start of the development of a mass based international movement of ordinary people standing together under the banner of the demand to Free Julian Assange!
APRIL 11TH - FREE JULIAN ASSANGE DAY
Global Virtual March
Of course in this time of a global pandemic, physical mass organising has become temporarily impossible. At some stage this will pass. However in the meantime we need to keep finding ways to sustain and build this movement. "Australians for Assange" have taken the initiative and called a global “Virtual march” for April 11th. Join the Facebook group here to take part. You can also share on the page the meme/banner on April 11th (but not before) for people to share around the internet. The Facebook event for the march can be joined here.
Online International Solidarity Event: #FreeTheTruth
Andrew Feinstein, Kristinn Hrafnsson, Stefania Maurizi, Peter Oborne, Chris Williamson and eminent experts will participate in the online I#FreeTheTruth event on Saturday 11th April. You can register here on eventbrite.