Should Julian Assange, the journalist, ever be released by the US or the UK?

[msc545]

Caitlin Johnstone, the Australian author and leftist blogger, argues that he should be, as not doing so undermines the moral authority of the US (as if it has any) to criticize the human right records of other countries, and states:

"Even if Assange is released, the US empire will still have spent years imprisoning a journalist for the crime of good journalism,* will still be the world's worst warmonger, and will still be the world's most egregious violator of human rights. Its moral standing is dead and buried, and the world should stop following its lead in creating a just and ethical world. It simply does not have the qualifications to do so. In fact, no power structure on earth is less qualified."

*(Assange published evidence of US war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan and Libya).

I think she is right. What do you think?

Release him:

Keep him in prison:

Updates

1 y

I'm not going to believe the lies about North Korea, although it is probably not the nicest place in the world. The lies about North Korea are promulgated by the United States.

[OlderAndWiser]

She simply sounds like one of those who hates the US.

Assange escaped prosecution on sexual assault charges by hiding in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London for years. His co-conspirator, Bradley/Chelsea Manning, was convicted on numerous charges and sentenced to prison, thought he only served 7 years due to a pardon from Obama.

It is easy for the media to portray Assange as a hero for revealing information to the publc, but he also revealed the identity of operatives to our enemies and we don't know how many of them were killed as a result of having their identities revealed. No, he should be extradited to the US and stand trial for the charges against him. He may be a media darling but he is no "darling" in my estimate.

[msc545]

I think she has a problem with war criminals - imagine that!

I also do not think there is any evidence that Assange revealed any names of "operatives" (even though they committed war crimes) although if he did, so what? Are criminals now afforded protections relative to their identity because we don't want them to be exposed and caught?

[OlderAndWiser]

Were any of the "war crminals" ever prosecuted for their crimes? Or were they merely convicted in the court of the left leaning public opinion? Because if that is sfficient to convic them of their crimes, then Assange is guilty of the crimes of which he has been accused. Unless you have no shame in advancing a double standard.

[msc545]

This is a rather hollow and hypocritical objection in that:

You must mean Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld et al, and you already know that they were never charged or brought to trial because, from a political standpoint, the only court that might conceivably do this would be the International Criminal Court. The US does not recognize that Court and no US Court would ever be permitted to even consider trying them.

The American Services Members Protection Act enacted in 2002 prevents the trial of US citizens by the ICC. The act is colloquially nicknamed "The Hague Invasion Act", as the act also allows the President to order U. S. military action, such as an invasion of The Hague, where the ICC is located, to protect American officials and military personnel from prosecution or rescue them from custody.

Presumably that "rescue Act" would apply to Bush et al. and perhaps others, but the US is now in a bit of a quandary since it seems to have the desire to cause the prosecution of Russian nationals using the ICC as a result of the war in Ukraine. A court the US does not recognize when it comes to war crimes committed by Americans. but is only too happy to use it against Russians or otehr economic and political "enemies".

[RealMarek]

We used to praise journalists who reported on crimes committed by the government during the 1970s. We are not a free country if a journalist cannot report information leaked by whistleblowers. Also, his extradition hearing in the UK The was a complete farce, with the government’a attorneys admitting they had to follow orders issued by the USG. Assange should be released immediately.

[msmissydc]

Totally agree. He should be released. What he published should never have been a secret anyway. The problem is that as it wasn't public he did actual crimes to get these information's. For me it should have been handled as, stealing a baloon on free baloon day. Instead he is handled like a terrorist.

[msc545]

He did no crimes whatsoever. That is a large part of the problem.

[Adaeva]

He never should have been arrested. However, what is right doesn't matter to the corrupt and evil USA.

[msc545]

Unfortunately, I live in the United States and I'm ashamed to really tell people that when I travel I think you can probably understand why. The United States is the most corrupt evil country on the entire planet and things just keep getting worse. Not better.

[goaded]

He shouldn't have been arrested, but to call the USA "the world's most egregious violator of human rights" is too much.

If he was Russian, he'd have fallen out of a window by now. Like it or not, the USA hasn't invaded anywere in a century without intending to eventually leave; Putin wants Ukraine to be part of Russia. There haven't been any concentration camps in the US for nearly as long, not like in China. North Korea has been imprisoning their entire population for generations.

[msc545]

I think it's a close race between the Russians and the United States and perhaps some other countries. But please keep in mind that the United States has explicit laws against torture and things of that sort and it breaks those laws routinely. United States also has a complete illegal prison camp where it torches people in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba where it is keeping people that have never been proven to have anything to do with terrorism whatsoever but happened to be Muslims and it tortures them and it kills them again without any consequences. Even worse, United States has invaded Iraq in Afghanistan and Syria and Libya solely for the purpose of stealing resources and overthrowing governments in order to control the populations of those countries. Just because it hasn't worked out so well for the United States doesn't mean that those weren't the acts of criminals. United States may not be the most egregious violator of human rights on the planet, but I think they come in a very close second.

[goaded]

Oh, yes, in the top five anyway. It's only the superlative "world's most..." that I was objecting to.

[msc545]

What countries do you think are worse?

[Adaeva]

@goaded @msc545 The USA is horrible and getting worse. However, North Korea is much worse. To understand just how awful North Korea is, read, "In Order to Live" by Yeonmi Park or watch some of her videos on YouTube.

Don't believe the lies about Russia in mainstream media. In recent times Russia is freer and not nearly as evil as the USA.

[msc545]

The US manages to create a lot of lies about North Korea. It is impossible to trust mass media or anything else published in the United States because if the wrong things are published, whoever does it will suffer the same fate as Julian assange.

[lightbulb27]

should release based upon what I think I know, which isn't that much. govt is frightening in it's abuses to control. We cannot let ourselves turn into china or russia.

USA has fallen down a lot, but not that much. We have been over bearing trying to hold onto our power, and that is looking more questionable going forward and thus, possibly, more violent.

[exitseven]

He should be released. There are plenty of other so called journalists that should be locked up

[Anonymous]

I honestly expected him to be killed

[msc545]

If he gets to a US prison, which he probably will, he will be tortured and ultimately murdered.