The Denver Action to Free Assange presented this discussion about the threat to press freedom after the arrest and indictment of WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange.
Volume 29, Number 332— Thursday, November 21, 2024
The Denver Action to Free Assange presented this discussion about the threat to press freedom after the arrest and indictment of WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange.
Thank-you for this. I especially appreciated the slides that Mr. McGovern presented.
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So, I was informed by another source, that Julian Assange has chosen to refrain from appealing the bail decision, and frankly, I don’t
understand this. How could an appeal of the bail denial impact the rest of the appeal process whatever it is gonna be? Does somebody think somehow if Julian Assange was released to a safe house that he could suddenly influence things and this would jeopardize the chance of appealing all of the whole decision on the merits? I’m having a hard time coming up with any sort of plausible explanation, and I just don’t understand the information my informant provided – who incidentally, didn’t even know they were providing it to me, so you can’t blame them.
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Why has the bail decision not been appealed? If there is a reason for this, then why not make the reason public?
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So obviously, Mr. Julian Assange has the ultimate decision on how this extradition request process proceeds, but is he in his “right” mind in this? That question is posed with full respect, and I understand it might be none of my damn business. It just doesn’t seem worth the risk of any perceived benefit, and so, if anybody reading this knows more regarding the bail appeal situation (or lack thereof), please share what you know because I am very concerned. Even if it is speculation, I need some help understanding the thought process, and frankly, isn’t transparency what Julian’s whole effort was about?
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BK
One possibility is that Assange’s legal team has concluded that it would be wiser to put its time and resources in defending against the US appeal than on a matter they may believe they have little chance of overturning.