A group of 24 members of the UK Parliament have written to President Joe Biden, who is at the G7 Summit in Cornwall, asking him to drop the U.S. prosecution of WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange.
Assange supporters march on Parliament, February 2020. (Joe Lauria)
By Joe Lauria
Special to Consortium News
Twenty-four members of Parliament have called on President Joe Biden to drop the U.S. pursuit of imprisoned WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange.
A letter from the MPs was sent to Biden on Friday as the president attends the G-7 summit in Cornwall.
It takes aim at Biden’s predecessor for indicting Assange and calls on the president “to drop this prosecution.”
“We hope that your administration will become a staunch ally of all those working to roll back the shadow of criminalisation against journalists,” the letter says, citing the U.S. First Amendment.
The letter points out that as vice president in 2011 Biden opposed Assange’s prosecution. “You, like us, must have been disappointed when your predecessor launched a prosecution carrying a 175-year sentence against a globally renowned publisher,” the MPs wrote.
They told Biden Assange’s case “weakens the right to publish.”
“Our countries are … increasingly confronted with the contradiction of advocating for press freedom abroad while holding Mr. Assange for years in the UK’s most notorious prison at the request of the US government,” the letter says. “We appeal to you to drop this prosecution, an act that would be a clarion call for freedom that would echo around the globe.”
The text of the letter:
Great Britain: The only way you can ever make up for the terrible wrong you have done to Julian Assange for telling the truth, is to
see to it before the whole world that he is freed right now from your wrongful grip, with absolute assurance he will never be
released to the U.S. or any other country for trial. Believe me as a senior American, he will never receive justice here in the U.S.
The eyes of the world are on you for this innocent man. Don’t let us down!
Thanks, Joe, for publishing this and hope the House of Lords members will follow suit! It is not too late for people of morals and ethics to get on the historical record that they did not consent to this kangaroo court “justice” by silent inaction! At least future generations will be able to see who tried to stop it!
Biden – Time to let go. If US wants to be seen as democratic, land of the free – Time to let go.
Let Justice, not plutocracy, secrecy, corruption and vengeance prevail.
Wonderful event it is time to go out on the street
Let’s get down to brass tacks here:
As long as the US holds hostage to the UK in terms of the US$ and the FINANCIALIZATION that goes on between the US and the UK, Assange will never be allowed freedom.
Until and unless the US Military/$$ Hegemony completely loses its iron grip ’round the world, there’s no chance the UK will release Julian Assange.
Let,a hope for some democracy and COURAGE.
The tragedy is that not one member of the Labour front bench had the guts to sign this letter.
24 out of how many??????, How can the UK pretend to care at all about “democracy” and “free speech”?????
Biden will not be moved. That Assange be destroyed is too important to the US and British elites to be reversed. There will be no comment.
Let’s hope Biden releases Assange. Abolishes the “Kill List” and disappearing peopole into secret prisons, too.
Good luck with that, Parliament. If Britain was actually and free and open society, you would have declined to extradite Mr. Assange because his persecution is clearly political and not legal. But Britain doesn’t actually qualify