Julian Assange seems to be a never-ending story and it is having a great impact on the public opinion concerning the importance of freedom of speech.
Sara D’Aquanno, 15th April 2019, Brussels
The latest episode of the Julian Assange saga
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was arrested by the British Metropolitan Police in London, on the 11th of April 2019 and then was taken to court for skipping bail on the 16th of December 2010. He had been in the Ecuadorian embassy in London since 19th of June 2012, after seeking asylum there to avoid extradition to Sweden on a rape allegation. Ecuador’s decision to allow the police to arrest the journalist inside its embassy followed a vivid and acrimonious period in which relations between the current Ecuadorian president Lenin Moreno and the WikiLeaks founder have increasingly become hostile. The arrest is a result of many episode sequences: it is a story that has started in 2010 and that is still going on today. The arrest of the journalist has aroused several reactions. On one side, those in favour of it such as the Prime Minister Theresa May and the foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, on the other side those against the arrest such as the Press Freedom Organisation Reporters Without Borders, the Australia’s Foreign Minister Marise Payne, and the actress Pamela Anderson who has visited the embassy to support Assange. Those different kinds of reactions throw light on freedom of speech and it begs the question where the threshold is, beyond which a journalist lose his right to speak out and do his work.
The beginning: the partnership with Chelsea Manning
The story began a long time ago. Assange created WikiLeaks in 2006 with the aim of spreading confidential information, characterising his site and himself as whistle-blowers. In particular, the organisation became famous four years later with the publication of documents related to the behaviour of US soldiers in Iraq, Afghanistan and the living conditions of Guantanamo Bay prisoners. At that time, Assange was working with Chelsea Manning, a former US intelligence analyst. She disclosed more than 700,000 confidential documents, video and diplomatic cables to WikiLeaks. In particular, she downloaded four databases from US departments and agencies between January and May 2010. Those documents were provided to the anti-secrecy website. According to the US Justice Department, this is one the largest breaches of classified information in the history of the United States. Manning has since faced legal consequences: she was arrested in 2010 and she tried to defend herself saying that she only did this in order to promote a public debate on foreign policy. Nevertheless, Manning’s actions have jeopardized the safety of a large number of people. She was accused of espionage and found guilty by a court martial in 2013. Then, President Barack Obama commuted the final 28 years of Manning’s 35-year sentence in December 2017, dating from her arrest in 2010, in his last days in office. Regarding Assange, he has been accused by the state of Virginia of conspiring with Manning to access classified documents on Department of Defense computers. The journalist faces up to five years in jail, in the USA.
Sexual assault allegation
In 2010, two Swedish women accused Assange of rape. In particular, they claim that he had forced them to have unprotected sex. These allegations stem from a visit that Assange made to Stockholm a few months after WikiLeaks gained international notoriety by publishing material leaked by Chelsea Manning. Assange denied these allegations, but a court in England, where he was living at the time, ruled that he should be extradited to Sweden to face investigation. In consequence, he sought political asylum in London’s Ecuadorian embassy. Now that he has been arrested, Swedish prosecutors are considering reopening the investigation. If so, then both Sweden and the USA seek the extradition and this means that the U.K. will have to make the final decision.
Freedom of speech in jeopardy
Assange’s lawyer Jennifer Robinson said they will oppose the extradition request. She stated that it is a “dangerous precedent” where any journalist could face US charges for “publishing truthful information about the United States”. In fact, Assange has portrayed himself as a champion of a free press. He has always stated that WikiLeaks is a journalistic project protected by freedom of the press laws. In fact, in 2007 a U.K. tribunal recognized WikiLeaks as a “media organization”. Nevertheless, he could be prosecuted in the USA for publishing classified information he obtained from Manning in violation of the Espionage Act. It is not rare that a journalist publishes classified information; therefore, those prosecutions against Assange could discourage other journalists to reveal important information with the consequence of limiting freedom of speech. Assange will probably argue that the conspiracy charge was a pretext and the US government is prosecuting him for the publication of classified documents. However, the case shows how the line between justice and freedom of speech is not so clear.
To be continued…
Sara D'Aquanno 