The U.S. and its allies don’t care about press freedom beyond the extent it can be used to conduct propaganda, writes Caitlin Johnstone after the High Court’s ruling against Julian Assange.
Image of Julian Assange. (Anarchimedia, Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0)
By Caitlin Johnstone
CaitlinJohnstone.com
The U.S. government has won its appeal against a lower British court’s rejection of its extradition request to prosecute Julian Assange for journalistic activity under the Espionage Act. Rather than going free, the WikiLeaks founder will continue to languish in Belmarsh Prison where he has already spent over two and a half years despite having been convicted of no crime.
“As a result, that extradition request will now be sent to British Home Secretary Prita Patel, who technically must approve all extradition requests but, given the U.K. Government’s long-time subservience to the U.S. security state, is all but certain to rubber-stamp it,” writes Glenn Greenwald. “Assange’s representatives, including his fiancee Stella Morris, have vowed to appeal the ruling, but today’s victory for the U.S. means that Assange’s freedom, if it ever comes, is further away than ever: not months but years even under the best of circumstances.”
“Mark this day as fascism casts off its disguises,” tweeted journalist John Pilger of the ruling.
Media freedom plays an indispensable role in informing the public, holding governments accountable, and telling stories that otherwise would not be told. The U.S. will continue to stand up for the brave and necessary work of journalists around the world. #SummitForDemocracy pic.twitter.com/ilitbdzSd1
— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) December 8, 2021
This ruling, which allows the U.S. to continue working to extradite a journalist for exposing U.S. war crimes, comes on the final day of Washington’s so-called “Summit for Democracy“, where the U.S. secretary of state made a grandiose show about of press freedom playing “an indispensable role in informing the public, holding governments accountable, and telling stories that otherwise would not be told.” And then adding: “The U.S. will continue to stand up for the brave and necessary work of journalists around the world.”
This ruling also comes on UN Human Rights Day.
This ruling comes on the same day two journalists formally received the Nobel Peace Prizes they’d been awarded and demanded protections for journalists in their acceptance speeches.
This ruling comes as the U.S. government pledges hundreds of millions of dollars in support for “independent media” around the world in coordination with British state media.
This ruling comes after it was revealed that the C.I.A. drew up plans to kidnap and assassinate Assange in the Ecuadorian embassy after the 2017 Vault 7 releases embarrassed the agency.
This ruling comes after it was revealed that C.I.A. proxies spied on Assange and his lawyers at the Ecuadorian embassy, thereby making a fair trial in the United States impossible.
This ruling comes after it was revealed that the U.S. prosecution relied on false testimony from a diagnosed sociopath and convicted child molester.
This ruling comes after recent investigative reports on civilian-slaughtering U.S. airstrikes reminded us why it’s so important for the press to be able to conduct critical coverage of the most powerful military force ever assembled.
The High Court has ruled that Julian #Assange can be extradited to the US. "How can it be fair, how can it be right, how can it be possible, to extradite Julian to the very country which plotted to kill him?" said Stella Moris. Mark this day as fascism casts off its disguises.
— John Pilger (@johnpilger) December 10, 2021
The facts are in and the case is closed: the U.S. and its allies do not care about press freedoms beyond the extent that they can be used to conduct propaganda. The way journalists who offend the powerful are dealt with by the U.S. government and the way they are dealt with by the Saudi monarchy differ only in terms of speed and messiness.
The masks are crumbling. Even when he is silenced, immobilized, locked up and hidden from public view, Julian Assange continues to shine a light on the abusive mechanisms of power. He is arguably exposing them more now than ever before.
As fascism casts off its disguises, it becomes more and more important to highlight the hypocrisy, fraudulence and depravity of the people who rule our world.
Caitlin Johnstone is a rogue journalist, poet, and utopia prepper who publishes regularly at Medium. Her work is entirely reader-supported, so if you enjoyed this piece please consider sharing it around, liking her on Facebook, following her antics on Twitter, checking out her podcast on either Youtube, soundcloud, Apple podcasts or Spotify, following her on Steemit, throwing some money into her tip jar on Patreon or Paypal, purchasing some of her sweet merchandise, buying her books Notes From The Edge Of The Narrative Matrix, Rogue Nation: Psychonautical Adventures With Caitlin Johnstone and Woke: A Field Guide for Utopia Preppers.
This article is from CaitlinJohnstone.com and re-published with permission.
The views expressed are solely those of the author and may or may not reflect those of Consortium News.
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This pre-eminent journalist and to use the proper acronym HPT (high-payoff target) was always set up by the UK Government to be disappeared into the US Gulag dead or alive since this was an imperative of the US/UK National Security State. To this end the UK Judiciary and the Executive (Government) conspired to prosecute a political trial against an HPT that would conclude with his transportation to the US and indefinite incarceration.
HPT: A high-payoff target, also known as an HPT, is a high-value target whose loss to the enemy (free press independent media) will significantly contribute to the success of the US course of action (suppression of free press and investigative journalism).
Masks? What masks? To me it has been naked evil for a very very long time already.
…. what it really shows is that a significant part of Americans are brainwashed. They continue to vote for the two parties, and continue to consume products spewed out by presstitutes in NY Trash, Washington Compost, CIA-NN, MS-DNC, National Propaganda Radio, and the like ….
I don’t recall Blinken standing up for the brave journalist that the Saudis didn’t like, and moreover, they are not exactly a fucking paragon of democracy neither, what a sick joke.
Oscar Wildes book, about the nefarious Dorian Grey is a metaphor for the US Empire? Just as Dorian presented to the World a ageless & beauteous face, spotless & without blemish, hidden away from view was his real Portrait Painting which displayed a rotten, cankerous & maggot infested face of that Man! America is like Dorian Grey & it’s same mask is being exposed & torn off to reveal the same hideous face of the American’Empire & what it really is? I always wondered why people in the Middle East referred to America as the great Satan? Now I know why? Because this Nation imitates its Father, Satan & his sick & depraved personality! This Disgusting US Empire is the most heinous, evil & murderous Nation that has ever existed on Earth, even worse than Nazi Germany, in my opinion? Hitler’s Regime only lasted 5 yrs but the American Regime has lasted 75 + years & has a greater, more murderous influence over most of the Worlds Nations, far surpassing anything Hitler’s Germany could ever dream of! Hitlers Leaders were tried & hanged for their War crimes but America’s Leaders get away, scott free from their genocidal Mass murder & Criminal actions but Journalists like Julian Assange who expose Western Govt’s & America’s War crimes is punished instead! Meanwhile the real murderers & Serial killer Leaders of the US Empire & its crony client States like England get away with Genocide & mass murder on a Industrial scale! When will this all end? The Day is fast approaching, judging by World events, that are clearly showing that the Empire’s days are numbered, it’s in massive decline because the Worlds had a gutsful! The sooner this depraved US Empire is confined to the dustbin of History is a day that can’t come soon enough!
We knew this was coming. The most important now is what they are planning for him and how far how are they willing to go (the CIA is bad augure). Like the Roman were unable to recognize a great adversary in Hannibal and were relentless in their effort to kill him, so are these people with Mr Assange. At the end, there is no difference between the “Democrats” and the “Republicans”. The overall policies are the same, the rest is just smoke and mirrors for the masses. Shame on the Australian government for not lifting a finger for one of its citizen.
Julian Assange is being punished for exposing U.S. war crimes and embarrassing the government. I wonder if those in attendance had the same reaction I did when I watched Anthony “Bullshit” Blinken champion transparency, Julian’s sin, at the “Summit for Democracy.”