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Thread: Julian Assange Extradition Hearing

  1. #1

    Julian Assange Extradition Hearing

    I thought i'd make a thread on this in here because I'm not sure where else it belongs...

    Day 1 is today (Monday)

    Julian Assange today starts his legal battle to avoid extradition to the United States where he faces the rest of his life in jail for leaking state secrets in hundreds of thousands of classified documents published online.

    The WikiLeaks founder, who is being held in Belmarsh Prison, will appear in the London court next door this morning for the first day of his full extradition hearing.

    His supporters have held a 24/7 vigil outside the top security jail since last September - dozens were protesting this morning with many camping out overnight with up to 500 expected to arrive for the case.

    The 48-year-old is wanted in America on 18 charges over the publication of US cables a decade ago and if found guilty could face a 175-year prison sentence and will face off with the US government.

    The Australian is accused of working with former US army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to leak classified documents breaking the country's espionage and hacking laws.

    Assange's legal team argue his case could lead to criminalising activities crucial to investigative journalists.

    Jennifer Robinson, Assange's lawyer, says his work has shed an unprecedented light on how the United States conducted its wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

    'We are talking about collateral murder, evidence of war crimes,' she said. 'They are a remarkable resource for those of us seeking to hold governments to account for abuses.'
    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...dition-US.html



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  3. #2
    Jennifer Robinson, Assange's lawyer, says his work has shed an unprecedented light on how the United States conducted its wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

    'We are talking about collateral murder, evidence of war crimes,' she said.
    Publishing war crimes?? Traitor
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  4. #3
    Julian Assange "put lives at risk" by disseminating classified materials through WikiLeaks, a lawyer representing the US on the first day of extradition hearings has said.

    In his opening statement, James Lewis told Woolwich Crown Court the actions of the WikiLeaks founder had helped to identify informants that had aided the US in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

    It put those revealed in the report at "risk of serious harm, torture, or even death," he said.

    Mr Lewis also told the court that journalism was "not an excuse for criminal activities or a licence to break ordinary criminal laws."

    He added: "This is true in the UK as it is in the USA, and indeed in any civilised country in the world."

    Mr Assange is wanted in the US to face trial for 18 charges of conspiring to hack government computers and espionage.

    He is specifically accused of conspiring with former US army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to hack a computer at the Pentagon and access a trove of secret documents and military files on Iraq and Afghanistan.

    These charges carry up to a 175-year prison term, his lawyers have said.

    Arriving in court on Monday, the cleanly shaven 48-year-old was wearing a blue-grey suit and spoke to confirm his name and date of birth.

    A number of supporters - including his father John Shipton - were sitting in the public gallery to watch the hearing.

    Legal arguments will be heard this week, before three weeks of evidence will be presented to the court beginning 18 May.
    https://news.sky.com/story/jullian-a...rings-11942089

  5. #4

  6. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by TheTexan View Post
    Publishing war crimes?? Traitor
    +rep
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  7. #6
    Just had a quick scan through the defense's opening case

    https://dontextraditeassange.com/JA_Defence_Opening.pdf

    It seems fairly strong. They have psychiatrists saying he is a suicide risk. They say the case is politically motivated and quote Pompeo, Trump and Sessions saying they need to put him in jail. There's lots of evidence in their submissions. I just wonder if the court will listen.

  8. #7
    They can’t prosecute McCabe (one of many leakers and perjurers), but you can bet they will successfully prosecute Assange (a publisher).

    Where’s a pardon for Assange?
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  9. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by Brian4Liberty View Post
    They can’t prosecute McCabe (one of many leakers and perjurers), but you can bet they will successfully prosecute Assange (a publisher).

    Where’s a pardon for Assange?
    Make it so!
    There is no spoon.



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  11. #9

    Question Where's the Birth Certificate?

    Quote Originally Posted by Warlord View Post

    Arriving in court on Monday, the cleanly shaven 48-year-old was wearing a blue-grey suit and spoke to confirm his name and date of birth.
    https://news.sky.com/story/jullian-a...rings-11942089
    Julian Assange is an Australian citizen who has never been in US jurisdiction.

    Where's the birth certificate?
    Quote Originally Posted by Swordsmyth View Post
    You only show up to attack Trump when he is wrong
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  12. #10
    Trump’s Betrayal of Julian Assange
    By Ron Paul

    Ron Paul Institute

    February 25, 2020

    One thing we’ve learned from the Trump Presidency is that the “deep state” is not just some crazy conspiracy theory. For the past three years we’ve seen that deep state launch plot after plot to overturn the election.

    It all started with former CIA director John Brennan’s phony “Intelligence Assessment” of Russian involvement in the 2016 election. It was claimed that all 17 US intelligence agencies agreed that Putin put Trump in office, but we found out later that the report was cooked up by a handful of Brennan’s hand-picked agents.

    Donald Trump upset the Washington apple cart as presidential candidate and in so doing he set elements of the deep state in motion against him.

    One of the things candidate Donald Trump did to paint a deep state target on his back was his repeated praise of Wikileaks, the pro-transparency media organization headed up by Australian journalist Julian Assange. More than 100 times candidate Trump said “I love Wikileaks” on the campaign trail.
    Trump loved it when Wikileaks exposed the criminality of Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party, as it cheated to deprive Bernie Sanders of the Democratic Party nomination. Wikileaks’ release of the DNC emails exposed the deep corruption at the heart of US politics, and as a candidate Trump loved the transparency.

    Then Trump got elected.

    The real tragedy of the Trump presidency is nowhere better demonstrated than in Trump’s 180 degree turn away from Wikileaks and its founder Julian Assange. “I know nothing about Wikileaks,” he said as president. “It’s really not my thing.”

    US pressure and bribes to the Ecuadorian government ended Assange’s asylum and his seven years in a room at the Ecuadorian embassy in London. After his dramatic arrest by London’s Metropolitan Police last April, he has been effectively tortured in British jails at the behest of the US deep state.

    Today, Monday the 24th of February, Assange faces an extradition hearing in a UK courthouse. The Trump Administration – led by a man who praised Assange’s work – seeks a show trial of Assange worthy of the worst of the Soviet era. The US is seeking a 175 year prison sentence.

    The Trump Administration argues that the Australian Assange should be tried and convicted of espionage against a country of which he is not a citizen. At the same time the Trump Administration argues that the First Amendment does not apply to Assange because he is not an American citizen! So Assange is subject to US law when it comes to publishing information embarrassing to the US deep state but he is not subject to the law of the land – the US Constitution – which protects all journalists and is the backbone of our system of government.

    It is ironic that a President Trump who has been victim of so much deep state meddling has done the deep state’s bidding when it comes to Assange and Wikileaks. President Trump should preempt the inevitable US show trial of Assange by granting the journalist blanket pardon under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.

    The deep state Trump is serving by persecuting Assange is the same deep state that continues to plot Trump’s own ouster. Free Assange!
    There is no spoon.

  13. #11
    Very interesting developments ('QC' stands for Queens Counselor i.e a barrister authorized by the Queen).

    ---

    US 'plotted to kill Julian Assange and make it look like an accident': Spies discussed kidnapping or poisoning WikiLeaks founder in Ecuadorean embassy, extradition trial hears


    US spies hatched a plot to kidnap or even poison Julian Assange using shady Spanish private detectives after he leaked 250,000 top secret documents online, his extradition hearing was told yesterday.

    The WikiLeaks founder's human rights barrister Edward Fitzgerald, who has previously represented Moors Murderer Myra Hindley and hate preacher Abu Hamza, said an attack inside London's Ecuadorean embassy would have looked like an 'accident'.

    The QC said private security from a Spanish company, acting on behalf of the US authorities, were involved in 'intrusive and sophisticated' surveillance of his client, but were outed by a mysterious Iberian whistleblower known only as 'witness two'.

    The covert monitoring allegedly began after UC Global's David Morales returned from a Las Vegas security trade fair in around July 2016 with a contract purportedly for a yacht belonging to Sheldon Adelson, a financial backer of Donald Trump.

    'But in fact, Mr Morales had indeed made a side agreement to provide information gathered about Mr Assange to the dark side - in other words, US intelligence agencies,' said Mr Fitzgerald.

    Visitors, including lawyers for the 48-year-old, who is facing extradition to America, are said to have been targeted by live-stream audio and video devices placed inside the embassy and laser microphones from outside.

    Referring to witness two's evidence, Mr Fitzgerald said: 'There were conversations about whether there should be more extreme measures contemplated, such as kidnapping or poisoning Julian Assange in the embassy.'

    Reading from a witness statement, Mr Fitzgerald continued: 'David (Morales) said the Americans were desperate and had even suggested more extreme measures could be applied against the guest to put an end to the situation.'

    He said there was a suggestion the embassy door could be left open to make a kidnapping look like it could have been 'an accident', adding 'even the possibility of poisoning had been discussed'.

    The extraordinary claims were made on the first day of Assange's extraordinary British legal face-off with Donald Trump's Government, which continues at Belmarsh Magistrates' Court today.

    Assange, who is being held in Belmarsh Prison after being dragged from the Ecuadorian embassy last year, appeared in the dock at the London court next door yesterday.

    He is battling to avoid extradition to Virginia where he faces 18 charges and a jail term of up to 175 years for leaking state secrets in 250,000 classified documents published by WikiLeaks online in 2010.

    But Assange's QC Edward Fitzgerald said extradition to an American prison extradition would be the 'height of inhumanity', exposing him to inhumane conditions in an American prison, leading to a high risk of suicide.

    James Lewis QC, representing the US Government, said Assange had conspired with former US army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to hack Department of Defense computers and share its secrets.

    Mr Lewis said documents that could only have been taken from WikiLeaks were found in Osama Bin Laden's Pakistani compound after US Navy SEALs raided it and shot him dead in 2011. This, argued Mr Lewis, is clear evidence that the information from the leaks was 'useful to the enemies of the United States of America'.

    The British QC added: 'The US is aware of sources, whose redacted names andother identifying information was contained in classified documents published by WikiLeaks, who subsequently disappeared'.

    Mr Fitzgerald outlined the 48-year-old's defence claiming he is an innocent man whose extradition is 'politically-motivated' by the Trump administration who want his 'head on a pike' to scare off potential leakers and whistleblowers.

    He said: 'Prosecution is not motivated by genuine concern for criminal justice but by politics. This extradition should be barred because the prosecution is being pursued for political motives and not in good faith'.

    He added the extradition attempt was directed at Assange 'because of the political opinions he holds', and said he would be denied a fair trial in the United States.
    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...mpression=true

  14. #12
    Julian Assange was 'handcuffed 11 times and stripped naked'

    Julian Assange was handcuffed 11 times, stripped naked twice and had his case files confiscated after the first day of his extradition hearing, according to his lawyers, who complained of interference in his ability to take part.

    Their appeal to the judge overseeing the trial at Woolwich crown court in south-east London was also supported by legal counsel for the US government, who said it was essential the WikiLeaks founder be given a fair trial.

    Edward Fitzgerald QC, acting for Assange, said the case files, which the prisoner was reading in court on Monday, were confiscated by guards when he returned to prison later that night and that he was put in five cells.

    The judge, Vanessa Baraitser, replied that she did not have the legal power to comment or rule on Assange’s conditions but encouraged the defence team to formally raise the matter with the prison.

    The details emerged on the second day of Assange’s extradition hearing, during which his legal team denied that the Wikileaks founder had “knowingly placed lives at risk” by publishing unredacted US government files.

    The court was told Wikileaks had entered into a collaboration with the Guardian, El Pais, the New York Times and other media outlets in order to publish secret cables in 2010.

    Mark Summers, QC, claimed the unredacted files had been published because a password to this material had appeared in a Guardian book on the affair. “The gates got opened not by Assange or Wikileaks but by another member of that partnership,” he said.

    The Guardian denied the claim.

    “The Guardian has made clear it is opposed to the extradition of Julian Assange. However, it is entirely wrong to say the Guardian’s 2011 Wikileaks book led to the publication of unredacted US government files,” a spokesman said.

    “The book contained a password which the authors had been told by Julian Assange was temporary and would expire and be deleted in a matter of hours. The book also contained no details about the whereabouts of the files. No concerns were expressed by Assange or Wikileaks about security being compromised when the book was published in February 2011. Wikileaks published the unredacted files in September 2011.”

    The Guardian’s former investigations editor David Leigh, who wrote the book with Luke Harding, said: “It’s a complete invention that I had anything to do with Julian Assange’s own publication decisions. His cause is not helped by people making things up.”

    Assange, 48, is wanted in the US to face 18 charges of attempted hacking and breaches of the Espionage Act. They relate to the publication a decade ago of hundreds of thousands of diplomatic cables and files covering areas including US activities in Afghanistan and Iraq.

    The Australian, who could face a 175-year prison sentence if found guilty, is accused of working with the former US army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to leak classified documents.

    The hearing continues.
    https://www.theguardian.com/media/20...-claim-lawyers

  15. #13

  16. #14
    You can tell which news sources are legitimate just by following this story. Only mention of it on most MSM sites is how Trump want to make Assange "an example".
    Very disappointed in Drudge as it's buried 10 stories down on the page. Highlighting fear mongering of DNC debate and Corona virus crap. Kobi Bryant love fest more important than journalism integrity.
    The wisdom of Swordy:

    On bringing the troops home
    Quote Originally Posted by Swordsmyth View Post
    They are coming home, all the naysayers said they would never leave Syria and then they said they were going to stay in Iraq forever.

    It won't take very long to get them home but it won't be overnight either but Iraq says they can't stay and they are coming home just like Trump said.

    On fighting corruption:
    Quote Originally Posted by Swordsmyth View Post
    Trump had to donate the "right way" and hang out with the "right people" in order to do business in NYC and Hollyweird and in order to investigate and expose them.
    Fascism Defined

  17. #15
    That's quite interesting evidence that they brought to court. Thank you for posting.
    "I am a bird"

  18. #16



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  20. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by Warlord View Post
    + Rep for George Galloway. A leftist for sure but an honest one. Why is it so many of these lefty's get so much right with what's wrong but so much wrong with the solutions?
    The wisdom of Swordy:

    On bringing the troops home
    Quote Originally Posted by Swordsmyth View Post
    They are coming home, all the naysayers said they would never leave Syria and then they said they were going to stay in Iraq forever.

    It won't take very long to get them home but it won't be overnight either but Iraq says they can't stay and they are coming home just like Trump said.

    On fighting corruption:
    Quote Originally Posted by Swordsmyth View Post
    Trump had to donate the "right way" and hang out with the "right people" in order to do business in NYC and Hollyweird and in order to investigate and expose them.
    Fascism Defined

  21. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by Todd View Post
    You can tell which news sources are legitimate just by following this story. Only mention of it on most MSM sites is how Trump want to make Assange "an example".
    Very disappointed in Drudge as it's buried 10 stories down on the page. Highlighting fear mongering of DNC debate and Corona virus crap. Kobi Bryant love fest more important than journalism integrity.
    Indeed, it is an indictment that almost all of our media is state-run/approved; lest they would all be on Assanges side on this matter. He hasn't done anything that the rest of the media has been doing since the inception of media.

  22. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by Todd View Post
    + Rep for George Galloway. A leftist for sure but an honest one. Why is it so many of these lefty's get so much right with what's wrong but so much wrong with the solutions?
    He is so eloquent. Good to see him in the fight even if I disagree with most of his other politics.

  23. #20
    The wisdom of Swordy:

    On bringing the troops home
    Quote Originally Posted by Swordsmyth View Post
    They are coming home, all the naysayers said they would never leave Syria and then they said they were going to stay in Iraq forever.

    It won't take very long to get them home but it won't be overnight either but Iraq says they can't stay and they are coming home just like Trump said.

    On fighting corruption:
    Quote Originally Posted by Swordsmyth View Post
    Trump had to donate the "right way" and hang out with the "right people" in order to do business in NYC and Hollyweird and in order to investigate and expose them.
    Fascism Defined

  24. #21
    I don't blame him for not wanting to be extradited to the US. The moment he steps on US soil hes going to get killed.
    "Perhaps one of the most important accomplishments of my administration is minding my own business."

    Calvin Coolidge



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