European legal team will seek asylum for Julian Assange in France
wsws.org | 2020-02-22
Members of imprisoned WikiLeaks journalist Julian Assange's legal team, together with Assange's father John Shipton, held a press conference on Thursday in Paris.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/02/22/euas-f22.html

New conflict of interest evidence against UK judge in charge of Assange extradition process
wsws.org | 2020-02-22
Fresh evidence has emerged that the chief magistrate overseeing the extradition trial of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has received financial benefits from organizations connected to the UK Foreign Office.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/02/22/judg-f22.html

Govt wants 'what looks like a free press', not 'dissidents': Eno, Westwood & others speak about fighting for Assange's freedom
rt.com | 2020-02-22
Prominent public figures like designer Vivienne Westwood and musician Brian Eno, joined mass protesters against Julian Assange's extradition, saying his fate will have impact on press freedom and holding governments accountable. | "Julian is the Trojan horse. If he knocks a crack in that wall, we can get government to do all the other things they need to be doing, which they are doing the opposite of [right now]," British fashion designer Vivienne Westwood told RT. Thousands took to the streets near the British Parliament to protest the imprisonment of the WikiLeaks founder ahead of a hearing next week to dete…
rt.com/uk/481475-assange-protest-brian-eno/

Ahead of Extradition Hearing, Hundreds March for Assange in London
Staff | truthdig.com | 2020-02-22
LONDON–Hundreds of supporters of Julian Assange marched through London on Saturday to pressure the U.K. government into refusing to extradite the WikiLeaks founder to the United States to face spying charges. | Famous Britons, including Pink Floyd's Roger Waters, Pretenders singer Chrissie Hynde and fashion designer Vivienne Westwood joined the crowd protesting the U.S. espionage charges against the founder of the secret-spilling website. An extradition hearing for Assange is due to begin in a London court on Monday. | WikiLeaks spokesman Kristinn Hrafnsson told a rally outside Parliament that the prosecuti…
truthdig.com/articles/ahead-of-extradition-hearing-hundreds-march-for-assange-in-london/

Demonstration to free Julian Assange this Monday in Montreal
wsws.org | 2020-02-22
"This case is tremendously important and holds serious implications for journalism, free speech and human rights around the world," demonstration organizer Elizabeth Leier told the WSWS.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/02/22/mont-f22.html

Bid to free Manning launched as explosive new evidence threatens to end Assange extradition
Tom Coburg | thecanary.co | 2020-02-22
Lawyers acting on behalf of imprisoned whistleblower Chelsea Manning have lodged a motion, arguing for her release. This comes as WikiLeaks tweeted that Julian Assange's lawyers intend to produce 'bombshell' evidence at next week's extradition hearing. | Meanwhile, more evidence has emerged to further the argument that the extradition hearings should end on th…
thecanary.co/global/world-analysis/2020/02/22/bid-to-free-manning-launched-as-explosive-new-evidence-threatens-to-end-assange-extradition/

Eminent Monsters: British doctors, human experimentation and the origins of psychological torture
Mohamed Elmaazi | thecanary.co | 2020-02-22
"For the last 60 years doctors working for the British and American governments have used psychological torture to destroy people". So begins Eminent Monsters, a chilling new documentary about the development and application of "psychological torture" techniques which have been, and continue to be, used by the UK and US governments as well as others around the world. | The Canary attended the UK premier at the Bertha DocHouse, on the bottom floor of th…
thecanary.co/feature/2020/02/22/eminent-monsters-british-doctors-human-experimentation-and-the-origins-of-psychological-torture/

'Don't Extradite Assange' is the Shout at London's Streets
telesurenglish.net | 2020-02-22
In London, hundreds of free speech activists Saturday marched from the Australia House to Parliament Square in support of Julian Assange who faces a court that will decide whether or not to be extradited to the United States. | RELATED: | Europe's Human Rights Watchdog Opposes Assange's Extradition | Beginning Feb. 24, London's Woolwich Crown Court will…
telesurenglish.net/news/Dont-Extradite-Assange-is-the-Shout-at-Londons-Streets-20200222-0004.html

Defend Journalist Julian Assange from Extradition to the United States
Dr. Leon Tressell | globalresearch.ca | 2020-02-21
On Wednesday Wikileaks editor Julian Assange appeared at a Westminster court for his final case management hearing before his extradition hearing which begins on 24 February. | The U.S. government will present its case arguing for Assange's extradition to face 17 …
globalresearch.ca/defend-journalist-julian-assange-extradition-united-states/5704262

Assange's US Extradition Hearing Opens Monday: Fight for the Free Press Is Now On
Nozomi Hayase | commondreams.org | 2020-02-21
Should Assange die in a UK prison, as the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture has warned, he will effectively have been tortured to death. (Photo: Jack Taylor/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/100.jpeg …
commondreams.org/views/2020/02/21/assanges-us-extradition-hearing-opens-monday-fight-free-press-now?cd-origin=rss

John Pilger: Julian Assange Must be Freed, Not Betrayed
John Pilger | mintpressnews.com | 2020-02-21
On Saturday, there will be a march from Australia House in London to Parliament Square, the centre of British democracy. People will carry pictures of the Australian publisher and journalist Julian Assange who, on 24 February, faces a court that will decide whether or not he is to be extradited to the United States and a living death. | I know Australia House well. As an Australian myself, I used to go there in my early days in London to read the newspapers from home. Opened by King George V over a century ago, its vastness of marble and stone, chandeliers and solemn portraits, imported from Australia when Austra…
mintpressnews.com/john-pilger-julian-assange-must-be-freed-not-betrayed/265037/

Julian Assange's Attorney Speaks Out on the Hopes and Hazards of His Upcoming Trial in London on Feb. 24
Chris Agee | globalresearch.ca | 2020-02-21
Assange's legal advisor Renata Avila joins Gray Zone investigative reporter Max Blumenthal, Black Agenda Report founder Glen Ford, and Green Party presidential candidate Howie Hawkins in Randy Credico's acclaimed radio series, "Assange: Countdown to Freedom"

"Leave Our Bloke Alone": Australian Politicians, A Little Mission for Julian Assange
Dr. Binoy Kampmark | globalresearch.ca | 2020-02-21
"I think that now it is time that the government I am a part of needs to be standing up and saying to both the UK and the US: 'enough is enough, leave our bloke alone and let him come …
globalresearch.ca/leave-our-bloke-alone-little-mission-julian-assange/5704042

Veteran "Four Corners" journalist Andrew Fowler denounces Australian government's refusal to defend Assange
wsws.org | 2020-02-21
"The persecution of Assange is an attack on anyone who speaks out against the power and authority of the United States. It is a warning to every journalist: 'Pull your head in. Shut up. Don't question.'"
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/02/21/afow-f21.html

UK Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell visits Julian Assange in Belmarsh Prison
wsws.org | 2020-02-21
McDonnell described the Assange case as "one of the most important and significant political trials of this generation," but made clear that his party will do nothing to mobilise the immense popular support that exists for the WikiLeaks publisher.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/02/21/mcdd-f21.html

Drop Charges and Extradition Pursuit of Assange, Says Amnesty International, Denouncing US Govt's "Full-Scale Assault on the Right to Freedom of Expression"
Andrea Germanos, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2020-02-21
"The potential chilling effect on journalists and others who expose official wrongdoing by publishing information disclosed to them by credible sources could have a profound impact on the public's right to know what their government is up to." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/amnesty-drop-charges-assange.jpg …
commondreams.org/news/2020/02/21/drop-charges-and-extradition-pursuit-assange-says-amnesty-international-denouncing?cd-origin=rss

John McDonnell visits Julian Assange and slams his 'political persecution'
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2020-02-20
Shadow chancellor John McDonnell visited Julian Assange at Belmarsh Prison on Thursday. | McDonnell said of Assange's case: I think this is one of the most important and significant political trials of this generation, in fact longer. … | The way in which a person is being persecuted for political reasons, for simply exposing the truth for what went on in relation to recent wars. | And he stressed: We don't believe that extradition should be used for political purposes. And all the evidence… demonstrates that this is a political trial, and we're hoping…
thecanary.co/uk/news/2020/02/20/john-mcdonnell-visits-julian-assange-and-slams-his-political-persecution/

"Leave Our Bloke Alone": A Little Mission for Julian Assange
Binoy Kampmark | dissidentvoice.org | 2020-02-20
I think that now it is time that the government I am a part of needs to be standing up and saying to both the UK and the US: 'enough is enough, leave our bloke alone and let him come home.'

Barrister says 'democracy at stake' in Assange trial
pip.hinman | greenleft.org.au | 2020-02-20
civil liberties Pip HinmanIssue 1254 Australia WhistleblowersFebruary 20, 2020February 24 is the first day of Wikileaks' founder Julian Assange's extradition hearing at Belmarsh Prison in London. The United States government will argue for his extradition to the US.
greenleft.org.au/content/barrister-says-democracy-stake-assange-trial

New blow to media freedom, whistleblowers
pip.hinman | greenleft.org.au | 2020-02-19
Fighting Fund civil liberties Jim McIlroyIssue 1254 Australia The Afghan Files AFP raid ABCFebruary 19, 2020Federal Court judge We…
greenleft.org.au/content/new-blow-media-freedom-whistleblowers

John Pilger: It is time for Julian Assange to be saved, not betrayed
John Pilger | thegrayzone.com | 2020-02-18
The truth is that Australia could have rescued Julian Assange and can still rescue him. Leaders of his homeland who have…
thegrayzone.com/2020/02/17/john-pilger-julian-assange-saved-betrayed/

While demanding Assange, US refuses to extradite CIA agent who killed British teen
Alexander Rubinstein | thegrayzone.com | 2020-02-18
High-ranking CIA agent Anne Sacoolas is charged with killing a teenage British citizen. While the US demands Julian Assange's extradition,…
thegrayzone.com/2020/02/18/assange-us-extradite-cia-killed-british-teen/

Free Gerald Reed Now!
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2020-02-18
Fight Back! News Service is circulating the following statement from the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, the Chicago Torture Justice Center, and Mamas Activating Movements for Abolition and Solidarity. | Judge Thomas J. Hennelly has attempted to illegally reverse the order of another judge, Thomas V. Gainer, who vacated the conviction of Gerald Reed and ordered a new trial. Gainer vacated Reed's conviction after overwhelming evidence that his "confession" to a double murder in 1990 was the fruit of horrible torture by police working under Commander Jon Burge, torture so extreme that it b…
www.fightbacknews.org/2020/2/17/free-gerald-reed-now

Courtroom erupts in response to racist decision in Gerald Reed case
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2020-02-18
Chicago, IL – The courtroom was packed February 14. This was my fourth Gerald Reed court hearing. Usually, there is a crowd of folks who show up to support Gerald and his mother, Armanda Shackleford, who has been fighting for her son since he was arrested, tortured and framed in 1990. Shackleford sits in the front row, wearing her Free Gerald Reed t-shirt. Together we sit for an hour, two hours, three, and hear powerful men debate the innocence of a man whose sentence was vacated a year ago. | But today was different. Two alderpersons were there, Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez and Jeanette Taylor, to show their suppor…
www.fightbacknews.org/2020/2/18/courtroom-erupts-response-racist-decision-gerald-reed-case

John Pilger: Julian Assange must be freed, not betrayed
Susan Price | greenleft.org.au | 2020-02-18
civil liberties John PilgerIssue 1254 Britain Julian Assange extraditionFebruary 18, 2020On February 22, there will be a march from Australia House in London to Parliament Square, the centre of British democracy. | People will carry pictures of the Australi…
greenleft.org.au/content/john-pilger-julian-assange-must-be-freed-not-betrayed

Protest Julian Assange's extradition
pip.hinman | greenleft.org.au | 2020-02-18
civil liberties Kerry SmithIssue 1254 Australia whistleblowerFebruary 18, 2020Australian citizen Julian Assange's extradition hearing is set to start at Belmarsh Prison, London, on February 24. | The United States government wants to extradite the journalist and whis…
greenleft.org.au/content/protest-julian-assanges-extradition