The New York Times and four other major international media outlets have called for the United States government to drop the espionage charges against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.
On Monday, the news outlets sent a letter to federal prosecutors urging them to stop prosecuting Assange.
The media outlets warn that the persecution of Assange, who has been imprisoned for the past three years without a trial, is a threat to public freedom.
The letter is signed by the editors and publishers of:
- The New York Times
- The Guardian
- Le Monde
- DER SPIEGEL
- El Pais
The letter said:
“Twelve years ago, on November 28th 2010, our five international media outlets – The New York Times, the Guardian, Le Monde, El Pais, and DER SPIEGEL – published a series of revelations in cooperation with Wikileaks that made the headlines around the globe.
“’Cable gate,’ a set of 251,000 confidential cables from the US State Department disclosed corruption, diplomatic scandals, and spy affairs on an international scale.
“In the words of The New York Times, the documents told ‘the unvarnished story of how the government makes its biggest decisions, the decisions that cost the country most heavily in lives and money.’
“Even now in 2022, journalists and historians continue to publish new revelations, using the unique trove of documents.
“For Julian Assange, publisher of Wikileaks, the publication of ‘Cable gate’ and several other related leaks had the most severe consequences.
“On April 12th, 2019, Assange was arrested in London on a US arrest warrant and has now been held for three and a half years in a high-security British prison usually used for terrorists and members of organized crime groups.
“He faces extradition to the US and a sentence of up to 175 years in an American maximum security prison.
“This group of editors and publishers, all of whom had worked with Assange, felt the need to publicly criticize his conduct in 2011 when unredacted copies of the cables were released, and some of us are concerned about the allegations in the indictment that he attempted to aid in computer intrusion of a classified database.
“But we come together now to express our grave concerns about the continued prosecution of Julian Assange for obtaining and publishing classified materials.
“The Obama-Biden Administration, in office during the Wikileaks publication in 2010, refrained from indicting Assange, explaining that they would have had to indict journalists from major news outlets too.
“Their position placed a premium on press freedom, despite its uncomfortable consequences.
“Under Donald Trump, however, the position changed.
“The DOJ relied on an old law, the Espionage Act of 1917 (designed to prosecute potential spies during World War 1), which has never been used to prosecute a publisher or broadcaster.
“This indictment sets a dangerous precedent and threatens to undermine America’s First Amendment and the freedom of the press.
“Holding governments accountable is part of the core mission of a free press in a democracy.
“Obtaining and disclosing sensitive information when necessary in the public interest is a core part of the daily work of journalists.
“If that work is criminalized, our public discourse and our democracies are made significantly weaker.
“Twelve years after the publication of ‘Cable gate,’ it is time for the U.S. government to end its prosecution of Julian Assange for publishing secrets.
“Publishing is not a crime.”
The now 3+ year imprisonment with no trial of Julian Assange – easily one of the most consequential Western journalists of his generation – makes US/UK lectures about press freedom a total farce. Good to see the media outlets who profited from his scoops finally defending him: https://t.co/wDLhL6oEB6
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) November 28, 2022
Every time Trump insulted Jim Acosta or Chuck Todd, hysterical journalists declared a press freedom emergency. That was just them petulantly defending their clique. As @ACLU and all press freedom groups warn, Assange’s prosecution is the real threat:https://t.co/0BONgetxkc
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) November 28, 2022
(By the way, Assange’s imprisonment, Snowden’s exile, Manning’s torture is what happens to *real whistleblowers, the kind who expose the secret crimes and lies of power centers.
The fake kind who do the bidding of establishment power, like @AVindman, get DC honors and TV gigs.)
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) November 28, 2022
