five outlets that published the WikiLeaks dispatches Twelve years ago, they asked the US government to stop persecuting Julian Assange. editors New York Times, Guardian, world, DER SPIEGEL D Countrypublished an open letter detailing that Assange’s prosecution sets a dangerous precedent that threatens freedom of the press.
“Obtaining and disclosing confidential information when necessary in the public interest is a central part of the daily work of journalists,” the letter says. “If this work is criminalized, our public discourse and our democracy will be significantly weakened,” say the signatories.
The letter is timed to coincide with the twelfth anniversary of the publication of the Wikileaks dispatches.
Twelve years ago, on November 28, 2010, our five international media (The New York Times, The Guardian, Le Monde, El País D DER SPIEGEL) collaborated with Wikileaks to publish a series of exposés that made headlines around the world.
Cable Gates, a set of 251,000 confidential US State Department cables, exposes international corruption, diplomatic scandals and espionage cases. According to New York Timesthe documents tell “an unvarnished story of how the government makes its most important decisions, the decisions that cost the country the most in lives and money.”
Even now, in 2022, journalists and historians continue to publish new revelations using a unique trove of documents.
‘Publishing is not a crime’: Media defends Julian Assange
Main media editors deplored the persecution by the United States government. “We are gathered now to express our grave concern about the ongoing prosecution of Julian Assange for obtaining and publishing classified material,” they note. Although the founder of WikiLeaks bypassed the Obama administration, that all changed when Donald Trump came to power.
The Department of Justice relied on Espionage Act 1917 per accuse Julian Assange of obtaining classified government information. The law passed as a measure against the disobedience of the army during the First World War is based on the concept receive or transmit information related to national security to an unauthorized person. Spies and critics of the government, as well as individuals such as Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning, were charged under this law.
Obtaining and disclosing confidential information when necessary in the public interest is a central part of the daily work of journalists. If this work is criminalized, our public discourse and our democracy will be greatly weakened.
Julian Assange was arrested in 2019 after he lost political asylum granted to him by the Ecuadorian embassy in London. The founder of WikiLeaks is currently being held in Belmarsh maximum security prison, where he is being extradited to the United States. If this happens, Assange He faces a sentence of up to 175 years in prison..
In their letter, the journalists report that it’s time to stop bullying Julian Assange for publishing secrets.
Source: Hiper Textual
