MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Lula supports Assange's cause
Lula also lambasted the media for not supporting their colleague During his recent visit to London, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva expressed his strong disapproval of the UK's treatment of Julian Assange. Lula criticized the UK for imprisoning the WikiLeaks founder for his professional activities as a journalist and called for his immediate release.
“It is an embarrassment that a journalist who denounced trickery by one state against another is arrested, condemned to die in jail and we do nothing to free him. It’s a crazy thing,” Lula told reporters. He also criticized the media for failing to support their colleague.
The Brazilian President firmly believes that Assange's case is a matter of freedom of expression and that he is behind bars simply because he exposed wrongdoing.
Assange was arrested by British authorities after Ecuador revoked his asylum status and allowed the UK police to remove him from the country’s embassy in London. The WikiLeaks founder had been sheltering in the diplomatic mission’s premises since 2012.
On the day of his arrest, the US Department of Justice served Assange with 17 charges under the Espionage Act, which could potentially put him behind bars for 175 years. His defense team is currently fighting a US extradition request.
The charges are linked to his publication of classified material obtained by whistleblowers, including classified documents alleging US war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan.
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Read all commentsBravo, Lula.
May 09th, 2023 - 11:28 am 0Julian has been pursued by every US administration since Obama and the uniparty (Demopublican / Republicrat) has no intention to let this man go. I doubt he would be safe if offered asylum in Brazil, but I'd be happy to have him as a neighbor.
Geeeeeee...
May 09th, 2023 - 12:16 pm 0Finally a point I doagree with that Yankee Mr. FortHay commentator...!
But..., worth to mention that the “Kennedycrats” (Bob Jr. & Caroline, et al.) have gone public with their intentions of either pardoning Julian or dropping all charges...
Will be interesting to see..., in case of the above happening..., if them Brutish will keep Assange in their safety box..., as they are doing with all that nice &juicy “confiscated” Venezuelan Gold...
Capisce...?
So important to Lula he had forgotten to discuss the matter with U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’.
May 09th, 2023 - 02:04 pm 0https://apnews.com/article/brazil-lula-coronation-london-julian-assange-wikileaks-a994ffc406fc8df19e0f1a9ac1c0ed16
Firstly, for most of the time Jules was not imprisoned by the British at all, but was a guest at the Ecuadorian embassy, entirely of his own volition.
Secondly, he skipped bail and hid in the Ecuadorian embassy to avoid extradition to Sweden on rape/sexual assault charges, nothing to do with his’ professional activities as a journalist’ .
I don’t see how ‘the First Amendment’, or ‘constitutional free press guarantee’, apply when the issue is skipping bale to avoid rape/sexual assault charges in Sweden.
He stayed in the Ecuadorian embassy until the statute of limitations ran out in Sweden. Then the Ecuadorians kicked him out, whereupon he was arrested for breach of bail (you don’t get bailed for that), again nothing to do with his’ professional activities as a journalist’.
Then, with no prior, outstanding extradition warrant from Sweden to complicate matters, was the Americans que to make their extradition request.
He avoided charges in Sweden but thereby left himself open to extradition to the US.
He is currently detained awaiting a decision on extradition to the US, which you could argue is because of his’ professional activities as a journalist’, however he cannot expect bail again, when he has already skipped bail once to avoid extradition on serious charges.
Mr Assange has only himself to blame for his current predicament. Had he gone back to Sweden when he was supposed to, whatever the outcome, he would be out now and home free.
Stupid or what, go figure!!!
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