The Assange Extradition Ruling Is A Relief, But It Is Not Justice by Ms Caitlin Johnstone!
(2021-01-06 at 02:10:57 )

The Assange Extradition Ruling Is A Relief, But It Is Not Justice by Ms Caitlin Johnstone!

British Judge Vanessa Baraitser has ruled against United States extradition for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, but not for the reasons she should have.

Ms Baraitsers frightening ruling supported virtually every United States prosecutorial argument that was made during the extradition trial, no matter how absurd and Orwellian. This includes quoting from a long-discredited CNN report alleging without evidence that Mr. Assange made the embassy a "command post" for election interference, saying the right to free speech does not give anyone "unfettered discretion" to disclose any document they wish, dismissing arguments from the defense that United Kingdom law prohibits extradition for political offenses, parroting the false claim that Mr. Assanges attempt to help protect his source Chelsea Manning while she was exfiltrating documents she already had access to was not normal journalistic behavior, saying United States intelligence might have had legitimate reasons to spy on Mr. Assange in the Ecuadorian embassy, and claiming Mr. Assanges rights would be protected by the United States legal system if he were extradited.

"Judge is just repeating the United States case, including its most dubious claims, in Assange case," tweeted activist John Rees during the proceedings.

In the end, though, Ms Baraitser ruled against extradition. Not because the United States government has no business extraditing an Australian journalist from the United Kingdom for exposing its war crimes. Not because allowing the extradition and prosecution of journalists under the Espionage Act poses a direct threat to press freedoms worldwide. Not to prevent a global chilling effect on natsec investigative journalism into the behaviors of the largest power structures on our planet. No, Ms Baraitser ultimately ruled against extradition because Mr. Assange would be too high a suicide risk in the United States of Americas draconian prison system.

Mr. Assange is still not free, and he is not out of the woods. The United States government has said it will appeal the decision, and Ms Baraitser has the legal authority to keep Mr. Assange locked in Belmarsh Prison until that appeals process has been carried through all the way to its end. Discussions on bail and release will resume on Wednesday, and Mr. Assange will remain imprisoned in Belmarsh at least until that time. Due to Mr. Assanges bail offense which resulted from taking political asylum at the Ecuadorian embassy in 2012, it is very possible that bail will be denied and he will remain imprisoned throughout the United States government appeal.

The Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA), the Australian trade union to which Mr. Assange belongs as a journalist, has released a statement on the ruling which outlines the situation nicely.

"Todays court ruling is a huge relief for Julian, his partner and family, his legal team and his supporters around the world," said MEAA Media Federal President Marcus Strom. "Julian has suffered a 10-year ordeal for trying to bring information of public interest to the light of day, and it has had an immense impact on his mental and physical health."

"But we are dismayed that the judge showed no concern for press freedom in any of her comments today, and effectively accepted the United States arguments that journalists can be prosecuted for exposing war crimes and other government secrets, and for protecting their sources," Strom added. "The stories for which he was being prosecuted were published by WikiLeaks a decade ago and revealed war crimes and other shameful actions by the United States government. They were clearly in the public interest. The case against Mr. Assange has always been politically motivated with the intent of curtailing free speech, criminalising journalism and sending a clear message to future whistleblowers and publishers that they too will be punished if they step out of line."

Indeed, the ruling today was a huge relief for Mr. Assange, his family, and for all his supporters around the world. But it was not justice.

"It is good to hear that court has ruled against the extradition of Julian Assange but I am wary of the fact it is on mental health grounds," APs Joana Ramiro commented on the ruling. "It is a rather feeble precedent against the extradition of whistleblowers and-or in defence of the free press. Democracy needs better than that."

"This was not a victory for press freedom," tweeted journalist Glenn Greenwald. "Quite the contrary: the judge made clear she believed there are grounds to prosecute Mr. Assange in connection with the 2010 publication. It was, instead, an indictment of the insanely oppressive United States prison system for security threats."

It is good that Ms Baraitser ultimately ruled against extradition, but her ruling also supported the entirety of the United States governments prosecutorial narrative that would allow for extradition of journalists under the Espionage Act in the future. The ruling is a significant step toward freedom for Julian Assange, but it changes nothing as far as global imperialist tyranny is concerned.

So the appropriate response at this time is a sigh of relief, but not celebration. The Julian Assange case has never been about just one man; the greater part of the battle, the one we are all fighting, continues unabated.

That said, the message of the empire here was essentially "We totally coulda extradited you if we wanted, but you are too crazy," which sounds a lot like the international diplomacy equivalent of "I could kick your ass but you are not worth it." It is a way of backing down while still saving face and appearing to be a threat. But everyone looking on can see that backing down is still backing down.

I think it is a safe bet that if this case had not had such intense scrutiny on it from all over the world, we would have heard a different ruling today. The empire did what it could to try and intimidate journalists with the possibility of prison for exposing its malfeasance, but in the end, it backed down.

I am not going to take that as a sign that we have won the war, or even the battle. But it is a sign that our punches are landing. And that we have got a fighting chance here.

Thanks for reading!!
Everyone has my unconditional permission to republish or use any part of this work (or anything else I have written) in any way they like free of charge.

My work is entirely reader-supported, so if you enjoyed this piece please consider sharing it around, liking me on Facebook, following my antics on Twitter, throwing some money into my hat on Patreon or Paypal, purchasing some of my "sweet merchandise", buying my new book "Rogue Nation: Psychonautical Adventures With Caitlin Johnstone", or my previous book "Woke: A Field Guide for Utopia Preppers". The best way to get around the internet censors and make sure you see the stuff I publish is to subscribe to the mailing list for "my website", which will get you an email notification for everything I publish. For more info on who I am, where I stand, and what I am trying to do with this platform, "click here".