Techrights' Statement on Julian Assange Verdict (February 20th, 2024) - Updated Throughout the Day
Techrights observes today's disturbing attempts to extradite a journalist for committing acts of journalism
Just on the heels of Alexey Navalny’s death behind bars
THIS statement represents the views of core people who are concerned and displeased with the way the United Kingdom has treated a de facto journalist for nearly a decade and a half. Enduring, persistent mistreatment, which was deliberate, has left a visitor in the country unable to even attend his own hearing today, citing health reasons. No principled, civilised country would deem this predictable - as per the perpetual mistreatment - health outcome compliant with human rights and basic human dignity. Repeated warnings to that effect were ignored, sending an alarming message to anyone who reports from within the borders of the United Kingdom. Eric Blair (pen name George Orwell), a famed British author, once said: ”Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed; everything else is public relations.”
The country has an extensive "public relations" industry already; we don't need more of it, and moreover we need people to refute and dispute the "public relations" (paid-for deceit). That's what Wikileaks was for, focusing on leaks in the English language because of the linguistic skills and background of core Wikileaks staff. Wikileaks did a great service to society, but nowadays it is barely active due to 'decapitation tactics' and deterrence against volunteers (threats which discourage participation). Putting Wikileaks "on trial" is, in effect, challenging the very right to expose what (mostly) English-speaking authorities prefer to keep hidden.
See the new video on the side. That's about how this case compares to Navalny's. The comparison is spot-on.
Making it personal
Wikileaks' founder Julian Assange, an Australian citizen with a specialist technical background (including an active role in the Debian Project), has come under attacks for exposing corruption and other crimes, including war crimes. Dedication to such causes demands personal sacrifice.
Techrights can relate to and sympathise with Mr. Assange's cause and respects him for his devotion to sources, who oftentimes leaked information at great personal risk if not expense. Mr. Assange shared the risk with his and Wikileaks' sources. Legal attacks targeted both the source and the publisher (or publication).
Many of the attacks metastasised in a way that warped the narrative, rendering or amplifying the scandals of a personal nature and thereby distracting from then nature of the revelations. This is often known as "shooting the messenger" (even literally in the case of some activists who expose corruption, e.g. in Russia or in Mr. Assange's case) or Latinised "ad hominem" (to the person) attacks.
What's under trial today isn't really the character or a person but the question of whether it's OK or not OK to publish state secrets in the public interest, even if they embarrass the state or call for accountability (not discrediting the state but rather subjecting it to much-needed scrutiny).
Mr. Assange has suffered enough already [1, 2] and, contrary to what the mainstream media claims, he committed no crimes against women.
What today's ruling means
"Live Reporting" by the state apparatus went on throughout the day and the outcome is yet to be announced. █