Assange se enfrenta a cargos en virtud de la Ley de Espionaje de Estados Unidos de 1917. El procesamiento en virtud de esa ley antidemocrática de la Primera Guerra Mundial llevó a miles de activistas antiguerra a la cárcel por ejercer su derecho a la libertad de expresión para protestar contra la Primera Guerra Mundial.
Irónicamente, la serie de dos partes de la primera página del New York Times del 19 de diciembre de 2021, titulada Hidden Pentagon Records Reveal Patterns of Failure in Deadly Airstrikes (Registros ocultos del Pentágono revelan patrones de fracaso en los ataques aéreos mortales), sigue los pasos de Assange al informar sobre los crímenes de guerra de Estados Unidos, aunque los redactores del Times siguen siendo libres.
Unos 100 reporteros del Times evaluaron documentos confidenciales del Pentágono obtenidos en virtud de la Ley de Libertad de Información. Estos incluían informes sobre 50.000 ataques aéreos de Estados Unidos en Irak, Siria y Afganistán realizados bajo las administraciones de Obama y Trump. Los reporteros del Times en el lugar de los hechos confirmaron posteriormente decenas de miles de víctimas civiles, daños colaterales.
"Los documentos [del Pentágono]", según The Times, "identifican a niños muertos o heridos en el 27% de los casos; en el reportaje pionero de The Times fue el 62%".
The Times y varias otras publicaciones importantes de todo el mundo reimprimieron gran parte del mismo material del Pentágono que Wikileaks de Assange dio a conocer al mundo. Sin embargo, Assange se enfrenta a una vida en prisión por publicar la verdad.
La persecución de Julian Assange por parte del gobierno de Estados Unidos es una amenaza contra la libertad de expresión y la libertad de prensa. También es una amenaza para el Movimiento por la Paz y todos los movimientos por el cambio social, ya que sin información y sin la capacidad de hablar y escribir libremente sobre las guerras y los crímenes de guerra de Estados Unidos estamos muy limitados, y los pueblos del mundo se mantienen en la oscuridad.
Por lo tanto, las organizaciones y activistas por la paz y la justicia exigen:
¡Liberen a Julian Assange!
¡No a las guerras de Estados Unidos!
¡Libertad de prensa!
¡Periodistas libres!
¡Libertad de expresión!
Firmantes iniciales:
Organizaciones: United National Antiwar Coalition (UNAC), United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ), ANSWER coalition, Code Pink, Black Alliance for Peace, International Action Center, US Peace Council, Veterans For Peace, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom US (WILPF US), World Beyond War, Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space, Popular Resistance, Alliance for Democracy, Ban Killer Drones, People's Opposition to War, Imperialism and Racism, Free Palestine Movement, International Solidarity Movement (Northern Calif), Palestine Children's Welfare Fund, Syria Solidarity Movement, NakbaTour, Resumen Latinoamericano, One State Assembly, Association for Investment in Popular Action, Upstate NY Coalition to Ground the Drones and End the Wars, Hamilton Coalition to Stop the War, Sanctions kill Coalition.
Individuos: Margaret Kimberley, Ann Wright, Ajamu Baraka, Medea Benjamin, Gerry Condon, Joe Lombardo, Kathy Kelly, Cindy Sheehan, Margaret Flowers, Bahman Azad, Sara Flounders, David Swanson, Brian Becker, Jeff Mackler, Jodie Evans, Bruce Gagnon, Nancy Price, Darien De Lu, Cassia Laham, Judy Bello, Rhonda Ramiro.
Imprisoned Wikileaks founder, journalist and free speech champion Julian Assange today faces life imprisonment for telling the truth about U.S. war crimes in Iraq, Afghanistan and at the U.S. torture base in Guantanamo Bay.
Assange faces charges under the 1917 U.S. Espionage Act. Prosecution under that WWI anti-democratic law placed thousands of antiwar activists in prison for exercising their free speech right to protest WWI.
Ironically, the Dec 19, 2021 New York Times front-page two-part series entitled, Hidden Pentagon Records Reveal Patterns of Failure in Deadly Airstrikes, follows in Assange’s footsteps in reporting U.S. war crimes, yet The Times staff writers remain free.
Some 100 Times reporters evaluated Pentagon confidential document obtained under the Freedom of Information Act. These included reports on 50,000 U.S. airstrikes on Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan conducted under the Obama and Trump administrations. The Times on-the-scene reporters subsequently confirmed tens of thousands of civilian casualties – collateral damage.
“The [Pentagon] documents,” according to The Times, “identify children killed or injured in 27 percent of cases; in The Times’s ground-breaking reporting it was 62 percent.”
The Times and several other major publications worldwide reprinted much of the same Pentagon material that Assange’s Wikileaks released to the world. Yet Assange faces a life in prison for publishing the truth.
The persecution of Julian Assange by the U.S. government is a threat against free speech and free press. It is also a threat to the Peace Movement and all movements for social change since without information and the ability to speak and write freely about U.S. wars and war crimes we are greatly limited, and the people of the world are kept in the dark.
Therefore, Peace and Justice organizations and activists demand:
- Free Julian Assange!
- No to U.S. wars!
- Freedom of the press!
- Free journalists!
- Free speech!
Initial signers:
Organizations: United National Antiwar Coalition (UNAC), United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ), ANSWER coalition, Code Pink, Black Alliance for Peace, International Action Center, US Peace Council, Veterans For Peace, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom US (WILPF US), World Beyond War, Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space, Popular Resistance, Alliance for Democracy, Ban Killer Drones, People’s Opposition to War, Imperialism and Racism, Free Palestine Movement, International Solidarity Movement (Northern Calif), Palestine Children’s Welfare Fund, Syria Solidarity Movement, NakbaTour, Resumen Latinoamericano, One State Assembly, Association for Investment in Popular Action, Upstate NY Coalition to Ground the Drones and End the Wars, Hamilton Coalition to Stop the War, Sanctions kill Coalition.
Individuals: Margaret Kimberley, Ann Wright, Ajamu Baraka, Medea Benjamin, Gerry Condon, Joe Lombardo, Kathy Kelly, Cindy Sheehan, Margaret Flowers, Bahman Azad, Sara Flounders, David Swanson, Brian Becker, Jeff Mackler, Jodie Evans, Bruce Gagnon, Nancy Price, Darien De Lu, Cassia Laham, Judy Bello, Rhonda Ramiro
