Opinion by Mathew Carr
Sept. 27, 2024 — Julian Assange, whistleblower, journalist, hacker or spy (depending on your point of view), will probably change the course of the US election on Oct. 1.
Assange will arrive in Strasbourg, France, on that day to give evidence before the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).
Picture: Assange; from PACE press release
Assuming he discusses the details of the report, for download below, he will put tremendous pressure on both sides of US politics to promise deep reforms of American politics and capitalism after Nov. 5 (the date of the presidential vote).
Trump and Harris have indicated they are open to reform, but no one is holding them truly to account because the establishment media, like Republican and Democratic administrations, are beholden to advertising banks and corporations.
[For example, Trump’s recent embracing of Robert F Kennedy, a longstanding corporate whistleblower and environmentalist, was a surprise. There is still a risk both sides of American politics will ignore again what the people want…because there are only two choices … and Trump has grabbed the third way when he grabbed RFK. Mass protest is probably needed over the next few weeks to force the Democrats and Republicans to actually properly compete for votes by offering real change, this time. Not the pretend change offered by Barack Obama and Trump Mark I, for instance.]
There needs to be a new form of well-regulated capitalism with strong whistleblowing protections and the biggest economy in the world needs to lead on it. It’s not communism. It’s better capitalism with real competitive tension, fair market rules and no companies that are “too big to fail”. Politics needs to be independent of profit seeking.
Assange has been one of the most influential people in world history, calling out bad imperialistic behavior by Britain and the US (and indeed bad behavior by many country administrations and people).
He has admonished the military industrial complex, boosting the chance of world peace.
He’s defended free speech, as western governments attempt to copy authoritarian regimes’ strategy of deceiving their people.
He’s warned of the dangers of technology.
He’s attempted to protect nature and the climate.
He pushed for a judiciary that truly supports real people via juries, instead of corporations and their big money.
Overall, he shone a light on the deceptive practices of governments and corporations…raising awareness about how they work against the people, who should be their true masters — ie the voters and customers.
Instead of heeding his whistleblowing, governments threw him in jail and greedily and recklessly exploited his warnings instead …as a playbook.
His wife Stella Assange tweeted this a couple of days ago, perhaps indicating one place where his testimony will go.
Key bit: “The committee expressed deep concern at Mr Assange’s harsh treatment, warned of its “chilling effect” and called on the United States, a Council of Europe observer state, to investigate the alleged war crimes and human rights violations disclosed by him and Wikileaks.”
Both sides of American politics should promise to do this. If only one side promises, the other side should win the presidency. That’s how democracy is designed to work.
PACE’s report is a great read/summary, including these highlights, for me:
‘Even the most democratic governments can’t be trusted’
Pathetic Britain seeks to label Belmarsh prison nicer than an embassy in central London
Dissenting opinion presented by Lord Richard Keen (United Kingdom, EC/DA), member of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, pursuant to Rule 50.4 of the Rules of Procedure
Keen (to be questionable) yet he does make SOME decent points
PRESS RELEASES
(Unedited but emphasis added):
Julian Assange to Address Council of Europe Following Confirmation of his Status as a Political Prisoner
On October 1, Julian Assange will arrive in Strasbourg to give evidence before the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) which is scheduled to meet from 8.30am to 10am at the Palace of Europe. This comes following the release of the PACE inquiry report into the Assange case, authored by Rapporteur Thórhildur Sunna Ævarsdóttir.
The report focuses on the implications of his detention and its broader effects on human rights, in particular freedom of journalism. The report confirms that Assange qualifies as a political prisoner and calls on the UK conduct an independent review into whether he was exposed to inhuman or degrading treatment.
Sunna Ævarsdóttir serves as the General Rapporteur for Political Prisoners and is the Chair of the Sub-Committee on Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights within PACE’s Legal Affairs Committee.
She emphasises how Assange’s case is a high profile example of transnational repression.
The report discusses how governments employ both legal and extralegal measures to suppress dissent across borders, which poses significant threats to press freedom and human rights. Julian Assange is still in recovery following his release from prison in June 2024. He is attending this session in person due to the exceptional nature of the invitation and to embrace the support received from PACE and its delegates over the past years. PACE has a mandate to safeguard human rights and has repeatedly called for Julian Assange’s release when he was in prison. He will give testimony before the committee, which will also hear the findings that his imprisonment was politically motivated. The hearing marks Assange’s first official testimony on his case since before his imprisonment in 2019. His appearance before Europe’s foremost human rights and treaty-setting body emphasises the broader implications of his case. https://pace.coe.int/en/news/9578/committee-expresses-deep-concern-at-harsh-treatment-of-julian-assange-warns-of-its-chilling-effect-for-the-press
Julian Assange to attend a PACE hearing in Strasbourg on his detention and conviction and their chilling effect on human rights
25/09/2024
Legal Affairs and Human Rights
Julian Assange is to attend a parliamentary hearing in Strasbourg on Tuesday 1 October 2024 which will look at his detention and conviction and their chilling effect on human rights, ahead of a full plenary debate on this topic by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) the following day. Both events will be livestreamed.
The hearing is organised by the Assembly’s Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights in the framework of a report on this topic by Thorhildur Sunna Ævarsdóttir (Iceland, SOC). In a recent draft resolution, based on her report, the committee expressed deep concern at Mr Assange’s harsh treatment, warned of its “chilling effect” and called on the United States, a Council of Europe observer state, to investigate the alleged war crimes and human rights violations disclosed by him and Wikileaks.
The committee said it considers that the “disproportionately severe charges” brought against him by the US authorities, as well as the heavy penalties foreseen under the Espionage Act for engaging in acts of journalism, fall within the requirements set out in a 2012 Assembly resolution on the definition of a political prisoner.
The following day, on Wednesday 2 October, the Assembly – which brings together parliamentarians from the 46 Council of Europe member states – is due to debate and vote on the committee’s draft resolution.
Practical information
The hearing, which is open to the press, takes place on Tuesday 1 October in Room 1 of the Palais de l’Europe, from 8.30 a.m. to 10 a.m. CEST. It will be streamed live in English on the Assembly’s YouTube channel here (scrollable mid-stream, with instant replay). A live feed of the hearing in broadcast quality can be obtained via the EBU. Alternatively, broadcast-quality footage can also be obtained, around an hour after the hearing ends, on request, from audiovisual.coordination@coe.int. Media wishing to attend in person, where space allows, should submit requests for accreditation here, and are invited to signal their wish to attend to pace.com@coe.int before midday on Monday 30 September.
The plenary debate is due to take place in the Assembly’s debating chamber on Wednesday 2 October from 10 a.m. CEST with a final vote expected around midday. The debate can be followed via the main webstream in several languages or via the Assembly’s YouTube channel in English (scrollable mid-stream, with instant replay). Mr Assange is expected to be present in the viewing gallery.
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