Amy Peikoff interviewed about the extradition of Julian Assange

[Dupin]

Video on this page.  (Start viewing at 1:30 because the video begins with an excerpt which you will see later in its place.)  She did a great job, very impressive.

 

[Boydstun]

On 25 July 2010, WikiLeaks released to The Guardian, The New York Times, and Der Spiegel over 92,000 documents related to the war in Afghanistan between 2004 and the end of 2009. The documents detail individual incidents including friendly fire and civilian casualties. The scale of the leak was described by Julian Assange as comparable to that of the Pentagon Papers in the 1970s. The documents were released to the public on 25 July 2010. On 29 July 2010 WikiLeaks added a 1.4 GB "insurance file" to the Afghan War Diary page, whose decryption details some speculation would be released if WikiLeaks or Assange were harmed.

About 15,000 of the 92,000 documents have not yet been released on WikiLeaks, as the group is currently reviewing the documents to remove some of the sources of the information. Speaking to a group in London in August 2010, Assange said that the group will "absolutely" release the remaining documents. He stated that WikiLeaks has requested help from the Pentagon and human-rights groups to help redact the names, but has not received any assistance. He also stated that WikiLeaks is "not obligated to protect other people's sources...unless it is from unjust retribution."

WikiLeaks' leaking of classified U.S. intelligence has been described by commentator of The Wall Street Journal as having "endangered the lives of Afghan informants" and "the dozens of Afghan civilians named in the document dump as U.S. military informants. Their lives, as well as those of their entire families, are now at terrible risk of Taliban reprisal." When interviewed, Assange stated that WikiLeaks has withheld some 15,000 documents that identify informants to avoid putting their lives at risk. Specifically, Voice of America reported in August 2010 that Assange, responding to such criticisms, stated that the 15,000 still held documents are being reviewed "line by line," and that the names of "innocent parties who are under reasonable threat" will be removed. Greg Gutfeld of Fox News described the leaking as "WikiLeaks' Crusade Against the U.S. Military."

ACLU urges DOJ to drop charges.

Edited March 5 by Boydstun

[Dupin]

Craig Murray in the UK has written extensively about the incarceration and trials of Julian Assange.

About the publication of the unredacted documents see "Julian Assange’s Grand Inquisitor" by Chris Hedges.

But what the WSJ (mainstream media beholden to the Deep State) says as well as the above is irrelevant.  The CIA is in large part a pack of murders – good riddance to bad rubbish.

 

 

 

[Boydstun]

Deutsche Welle

Quote

 

German Chancellor Scholz voices opposition to the extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the US, stressing the importance of fair treatment. He calls on UK courts to ensure Assange's rights are protected.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Monday [3/2/24] said he hoped the British court system would protect Julian Assange, founder of the whistleblowing website WikiLeaks, from being extradited to the United States.

US prosecutors want to place the 52-year-old Assange on trial over WikiLeaks' high-profile release of confidential military records and diplomatic cables.

The chancellor made his remarks during an question-and-answer session at a vocational school in southern Germany.

US lawyers say Assange — indicted on 17 charges of espionage and one charge of computer misuse — could face up to 175 years in prison if convicted, but authorities have said the sentence is likely to be much shorter.

Supporters of Assange, who is Australian, say he is a journalist who lifted the lid on US military wrongdoing in Iraq and Afghanistan. They claim the prosecution is politically motivated and that he has no chance of a fair trial in the US.

Lawyer Clair Dobbin, representing the US government, last month said Assange had damaged US security and intelligence services and that he had "created a grave and imminent risk" that could harm and lead to the arbitrary detention of innocent people, many living in war zones or under repressive regimes.

Dobbin said that, in encouraging US Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning and others to hack into government computers and steal from them, Assange was "going a very considerable way beyond" gathering information as a journalist.

Dobbin was speaking as the UK High Court heard two days of arguments over whether to grant Assange a fresh appeal against his extradition. A decision is expected soon, possibly this month.

Should the judges rule against Assange, he could ask the European Court of Human Rights to halt the extradition. However, supporters worry he could be put on a plane to the US before that happens, with the government having already signed an extradition order.

 

If Assange is extradited to the US, I predict that if he dies before trial, it will be by natural causes, not by the Devil or the Deep State. Should he live and go on trial, I think the arguments on both sides of the case will be extremely important. If convicted, the case might well be appealed for constitutional issues. If convicted, as was Manning, the President could then, as with Manning, commute the sentence if the Administration thought the penalty too harsh. Perhaps there is worth to the US for cooperation from Assange (I don't know if there is any), and by that route also the sentence of Assange could be lenient. Compassionate release from prison is also a possibility if convicted and sentenced to prison. But cf. Madoff.

Afghanistan "War Logs"

 

Edited March 6 by Boydstun

[Dupin]

Commenting on just this part:

Quote

 if he [Assange] dies before trial, it will be by natural causes, not by ... the Deep State.

If you torture a man for 14 years and he dies a month later, you don’t say he died of natural causes.  Good grief.

What’s under the ellipsis – “the Devil or” – mocks the truth.