Julian Assange can be extradited to US to face espionage charges, court rules
WikiLeaks co-founder’s lawyers say they will seek to appeal, as Amnesty International says decision is a ‘travesty of justice’
www.theguardian.com
Julian Assange can be extradited to US to face espionage charges, court rules.
- Thread starter It’s Time To Go
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www.theguardian.com
It was inevitable. I don't rate his chances of getting through the US legal system without catching at least one or more charges as very good either sadly.
I hate how this whole ordeal which is obviously bad in how it will be a dangerous precedent for actual whistleblowers and journalists makes Assange look like "the good guy" here. This shouldnt happen but also Assange is scum, so many damn unaltered leaks from Wikileaks that endangered people all over the world, like that time they doxed most of Turkeys adult female population or endangered gay men in countries where they could be executed for it.
Not to mention the time Wikileaks was running propaganda for Russia about the crashed plane in Ukraine or the obvious antisemitism.
Not to mention the time Wikileaks was running propaganda for Russia about the crashed plane in Ukraine or the obvious antisemitism.
The CIA gave a pinky swear to the judge, and for good measure, also swore on their Scout's honour. I think that's pretty solid. only a complete jerk would break their word after saying that
This entire ordeal is so fucked up, I hate that the whole thing works in the favor of the insane conspiracy theorists too.
undermines whistle blowers as well, it's just shit all around even if you hate assange.
undermines whistle blowers as well, it's just shit all around even if you hate assange.
Yeah what could go wrong. Lets deliver him to the country that literally planned to assassinate him for exposing US war crimes. The whole thing makes me sick.
Dude is a rapist and fascism enabler and much of the world has been gaslighted into thinking he's a hero. It's a complex story. Also fuck the CIA.
Dude's a scumbag, but he absolutely should not be extradited to a country that was making plans on how best to murder him.
Yeah I'm reading all these post defending him and thought I was going crazy.
But he isn't tried for his scummy behavior. He is facing espionage charges. I do think wikileaks should face court for many of it's "leaks" but not in this particular case. So while Assange might deserve what is coming to him it's still not right way to do it, especially when this case will open doors to punish whistleblowers in the future.
What's crazy is that (from what I remember of the reporting), the high level assassination plans really stemmed from the publication of CIA hacking tools by Wikileaks. Basically Pompeo and a bunch of higher ups in the CIA were simply angry at being embarrassed.
You aren't crazy. Assange doesn't deserve uncritical defenders, and Wikileaks is unadulterated trash.
I keep seeing him being propped up and an example of going after investigative journalists but why do we wash away all the vile shit he did that no self respecting whistle blower would engage in?
Did he not spread disinformation as well, act as a divisive chaos agent? Promote violence, steal money, and so forth?!?
I get the principals and implications at play here but I really would like to think that the journalists themselves have ethical responsibilities to uphold.
That only really addresses my lack of sympathy though and he isn't being charged for his criminal liability correct?
Did he not spread disinformation as well, act as a divisive chaos agent? Promote violence, steal money, and so forth?!?
I get the principals and implications at play here but I really would like to think that the journalists themselves have ethical responsibilities to uphold.
That only really addresses my lack of sympathy though and he isn't being charged for his criminal liability correct?
it isn't complex in the slightest
the US intelligence community want to make an example of him for precedence sake. Fuck then to hell.
Also this case always gets liberals on their clay horses. Shows the ease in which you can manipulate perception through focusing on their personal conduct (here not proven to the degree to which some are implying on here) rather than what truly matters in the social and political sphere.
Make him be judged in another country. The US is clearly biased
Example of who?
I am still unconvinced we should view him as a journalist or whistleblower
Ok this I can get behind
For more on the "plans" to abduct or harm Assange, this article has some details and is a quick read. It appears that the ideas weren't seriously considered or generated — but that Assange was an obsession for Pompeo, who unleashed and enabled the worst kind of brainstorming. As far as where things were left:
(I can completely understand reluctance to trust commentary like this, however. But it's the most updated on-record journalism I found.)
I haven't seen anything on what'll happen regarding charges, but I imagine that we'll see a DoJ statement about this soon.
That said, no country should extraditing anyone to another country that employs the death penalty. The UK has this concept as law, so I'm guessing it's off the table per assurances from DoJ.
(I can completely understand reluctance to trust commentary like this, however. But it's the most updated on-record journalism I found.)
I haven't seen anything on what'll happen regarding charges, but I imagine that we'll see a DoJ statement about this soon.
That said, no country should extraditing anyone to another country that employs the death penalty. The UK has this concept as law, so I'm guessing it's off the table per assurances from DoJ.
A complete travesty of justice and a major blow journalism and freedom of information worldwide. The journalists who have kept silent should be ashamed.
Assange / Wikileaks...it's a pretty standard game. They want to discourage future leaks while nailing somebody they despise.
People should remember that the kind of stuff the CIA get up to is horrifically deprived. Just read up about the School of the Americas for instance. Weaponising rape is just one of their crimes.
Sending a journlist to the country that plotted to kill him. Very nice.
They're not charging him for publishing US war crimes, right? Because as far as I know, you can't get charged for publishing those unless it's ridiculously careless.
Correct me if I'm wrong but the charges are about putting people in danger ... however I read he redacted thousands of names and worked with the state department to withhold thousands of documents.
Ironic that this is happening at the same time as US's democracy summit.
They're not charging him for publishing US war crimes, right? Because as far as I know, you can't get charged for publishing those unless it's ridiculously careless.
Correct me if I'm wrong but the charges are about putting people in danger ... however I read he redacted thousands of names and worked with the state department to withhold thousands of documents.
Ironic that this is happening at the same time as US's democracy summit.
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Here's details on the actual charges: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/wikileaks-founder-charged-superseding-indictment
He didn't work with the State Department. Best I found is a YouTube video claiming that he sent a warning. Here's how Chelsea Manning describes it:
It's from a German site: https://amp.dw.com/en/wikileaks-cab...arnished-look-at-us-foreign-policy/a-55755239.
As far as redactions:
Judged for what? The US is alleging he violated US espionage laws, that's not something another country can try.
Generally I feel these charges are bullshit to use against someone not in the U.S., is not a U.S. citizen, nor lives in the U.S. For these people, espionage charges generally aren't used since espionage is typically conducted by nation states.
Assange is a piece of shit, but he should not have any obligation to protect US secrets. This just lends credence that the rape charges were a horseshit reason to get him out from protection.
Thank you, so hacking charges.
This is my source of the info:
WikiLeaks acted in public interest, 'Pentagon Papers' leaker tells Assange hearing
The man who leaked the "Pentagon Papers" about the Vietnam War defended Julian Assange at his London extradition hearing on Wednesday, saying WikiLeaks had acted in the public interest and warning Assange would not get a fair trial in the United States.
www.reuters.com
Regarding the leaks that contained names:
I wish he wasn't such a scumbag but any "trial" he would face in the US is going to be a formality for his execution.
LOL. All his charges are for jail time only. US isn't going to execute him.
Dude is a huge piece of shit but no one should be extraditing non US citizens (or anyone really) to the usa for crimes while the USA prison system is as fucked up as it is with daily human rights violations, when the CIA (even if not seriously considered) still were planning how best to kill the person while on foreign soil, and while the usa maintains the death penalty.
There's 0 promises, pledges or written documents the usa can give that anyone can take at face value and be expected to be followed. They're not exactly known for giving a fuck about other countries thoughts on this stuff. I'd rather not let a corrupt country and legal system have easy access to someone they've wanted to make an example of for so long just because they've made some promises not to do shit they have 0 issues doing anyway.
There's 0 promises, pledges or written documents the usa can give that anyone can take at face value and be expected to be followed. They're not exactly known for giving a fuck about other countries thoughts on this stuff. I'd rather not let a corrupt country and legal system have easy access to someone they've wanted to make an example of for so long just because they've made some promises not to do shit they have 0 issues doing anyway.
Not only that but I guess the US gave assurances to the UK that any prison time he's convicted of he'd be allowed to serve in Australia.
Nobody in this thread has "defended" him - its well established Assange is a piece of shit. However, our current government has a tried and tested method of watering down human rights and civil liberties by using publicly disliked targets. The moment a refugee commits a violent crime? More inhumane asylum seeker laws. Climate activists blocking the school run? Draconian anti-protest bills.
Dana Rohrabacher and Nigel Farage aint the only ones catastrophizing right now I see.
Enjoy yalls fridays. :)
Enjoy yalls fridays. :)
This is interesting! Thank you for the update — I didn't know the initial piece. Looks like poor cybersecurity practices were significantly to blame too, plus whatever the Guardian did.Thank you, so hacking charges.
This is my source of the info:
WikiLeaks acted in public interest, 'Pentagon Papers' leaker tells Assange hearing
The man who leaked the "Pentagon Papers" about the Vietnam War defended Julian Assange at his London extradition hearing on Wednesday, saying WikiLeaks had acted in the public interest and warning Assange would not get a fair trial in the United States.
Regarding the leaks that contained names:
He fucked himself over, really. He treated the Ecuadorian embassy like it was a shitty rental house and then sued the government when they imposed rules on him.
That said, I will never applaud a CIA target operation, because they have a hell of a history.
That said, I will never applaud a CIA target operation, because they have a hell of a history.
Yup
You can see both Assange and the CIA (and US government as a whole) as the bad guys here
Sucks when trying to navigate all this
I think the best take so far in the thread was the suggestion that he face consequences on neutral grounds. Extradition to the US is a mistake.... as badly as I want this guy to face the music
The damage he helped cause outside of the shit that is supposedly good wasn't a great tradeoff
Yeah, I was reading this thread when I first woke up. Rereading the first few posts it does not come across as defending him. That was my misjudgment.
Like the current issue of this very topic.
Like running cover for Russia shooting down a civilian plane
Like everything that happened in 2016
If his ass was in a cell after raping a woman he wouldn't have been in the position to do any of it.
Not sure why you feel this way. Assange gave us Trump. Fuck him.
I thought this site turned against him when he helped sink Hillary Clinton and got us 4 years of Trump.
Ahh yes, because releasing (true) information in a curated fashion to support a political party in another country deserves the extraordinary rendition of a non-citizen, and the setting of a precedent to do so more in the future. Really well thought out position friend.