DAWN.COM
PAKISTAN
Published December 13, 2021 -
A UK High Court decision allowing the extradition of Julian Assange to the US comes as a blow not just to the WikiLeaks founder but also to democracy and media everywhere. The US wants Mr Assange for the publication of thousands of classified documents between 2010 and 2011. In January this year, a UK court said he could not be extradited due to concerns for his mental health. Last week, however, the US won an appeal after the court accepted assurances that Mr Assange would not face strict prison conditions, which was the basis for the earlier ruling. The decision is devastating for Mr Assange’s family and friends who are concerned about whether he can survive prison. But it is also a message from the US that whistle-blowers and those that expose uncomfortable realities will be pursued and punished.
Mr Assange’s revelations were very much in the public interest. Instead of seeing them as such, and as falling in the realm of free speech, American authorities went after him with desperation, and gave assurances to the court regarding better prison conditions. US prison conditions are often seen as a grave issue by UK courts during extradition trials, and in its efforts to successfully extradite individuals, the US has gone to great lengths to persuade judges that detention conditions will not be inhumane. America’s actions paint a sorry picture of a country that prides itself as a champion of rights and democracy. Punishing Mr Assange for lifting the lid on grave abuses committed by the US administration in Iraq — documents that were published by media outlets — flies in the face of democratic ideals. An appeal to the high court may buy Mr Assange a few more years. But the fact remains that he has been detained in some way or the other for 11 years. The US should not pursue this extradition case, and the UK must not allow it, because revelations like Mr Assange’s allow the media to hold the powerful accountable and demand a more just world.
Published in Dawn, December 13th, 2021
A UK High Court decision allowing the extradition of Julian Assange to the US comes as a blow not just to the WikiLeaks founder but also to democracy and media everywhere. The US wants Mr Assange for the publication of thousands of classified documents between 2010 and 2011. In January this year, a UK court said he could not be extradited due to concerns for his mental health. Last week, however, the US won an appeal after the court accepted assurances that Mr Assange would not face strict prison conditions, which was the basis for the earlier ruling. The decision is devastating for Mr Assange’s family and friends who are concerned about whether he can survive prison. But it is also a message from the US that whistle-blowers and those that expose uncomfortable realities will be pursued and punished.
Mr Assange’s revelations were very much in the public interest. Instead of seeing them as such, and as falling in the realm of free speech, American authorities went after him with desperation, and gave assurances to the court regarding better prison conditions. US prison conditions are often seen as a grave issue by UK courts during extradition trials, and in its efforts to successfully extradite individuals, the US has gone to great lengths to persuade judges that detention conditions will not be inhumane. America’s actions paint a sorry picture of a country that prides itself as a champion of rights and democracy. Punishing Mr Assange for lifting the lid on grave abuses committed by the US administration in Iraq — documents that were published by media outlets — flies in the face of democratic ideals. An appeal to the high court may buy Mr Assange a few more years. But the fact remains that he has been detained in some way or the other for 11 years. The US should not pursue this extradition case, and the UK must not allow it, because revelations like Mr Assange’s allow the media to hold the powerful accountable and demand a more just world.
Published in Dawn, December 13th, 2021
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