Dear Friends and Activists,
There are currently underway several grave threats to freedom of speech. One that I am especially concerned about has to do with the United States government’s prosecution of Wikileaks' founder Julian Assange. The Trump Administration accused him of espionage, and the Biden Administration has not dropped the charges. Why was Assange so accused? For releasing to news media classified information about war crimes that was given to him by whistleblowers. For an example, check out Wikileaks Collateral Murder video.Assange took refuge in the Ecuadoran Embassy in London in order to avoid extradition to the United States and was arbitrarily detained there for seven years. It has recently been revealed that the security firm, U.C. Global, hired to protect the embassy and Assange, was working with the CIA and recorded his every move, day and night, including meetings with his attorneys. For almost two years he has been confined to Belmarsh Prison in London. If sent to our country and convicted, he will face 175 years in prison.All this for publishing and sharing with other media (The Guardian, Washington Post, New York Times, etc.) truthful information about war crimes that was given to his organization by whistleblowers. Free press as we know it depends on such revelations. A coalition of major human rights and press freedom groups recently signed a letter asking Biden's Department of Justice to drop the indictment against Julian Assange. The letter, initiated by Freedom of the Press Foundation, was signed by leading rights groups, including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the American Civil Liberties Union, and Committee to Protect Journalists. They argued that the case against Assange could establish a precedent posing a grave threat to press freedoms. Said Rebecca Vincent, of Reporters Without Borders, “No journalist, publisher or source can be confident that they wouldn’t be criminally pursued for similar public interest reporting."Denver Action to Free Assange, of which I am a member, is sponsoring an informational meeting about the Assange case with three internationally-known individuals who are well-versed in its details. Deepa Driver, activist and Lecturer in Governance, Regulation and Risk at the University of Reading in the U.K., will moderate the discussion between Ray McGovern, a CIA analyst for 27 years and co-creator of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity, and Mohamed Elmaazi, an investigative journalist based in London.Everyone who watches the program will come away with a clearer understanding of the case and also its ramifications on journalism.We hope you will join this free virtual program at noon Mountain Standard Time next Sunday, February 28. To register, go to https://www.eventbrite.com/e/press-freedom-julian-assange- tickets-142299372253. And if you should forward this notice on to others you know who might be interested, we would be very appreciative. Thank you, Fran Shure
