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posted by martyb on Saturday June 27 2020, @06:06AM   Printer-friendly
from the wheels-of-'justice'-grinding-away dept.

https://caitlinjohnstone.com/2020/06/26/free-speech-in-the-us-empire-is-as-illusory-as-free-range-eggs/

In what Shadowproof‘s Kevin Gosztola calls “a not-so-subtle effort to criminalize the journalism of an adversarial media organization that the United States has spent the last decade working to destroy,” WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been hit with another superseding indictment [PDF] by the US Department of Justice.

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/wikileaks-founder-charged-superseding-indictment

The new indictment does not add additional counts to the prior 18-count superseding indictment returned against Assange in May 2019. It does, however, broaden the scope of the conspiracy surrounding alleged computer intrusions with which Assange was previously charged. According to the charging document, Assange and others at WikiLeaks recruited and agreed with hackers to commit computer intrusions to benefit WikiLeaks.

https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/06/25/assa-j25.html

Significantly, none of the events was held in the United States, but are cited as evidence of intent, or conspiracy, to violate American laws. This is in line with the unprecedented assertion of extraterritorial jurisdiction on which the entire indictment is based. The Justice Department is essentially arguing that domestic US laws apply to all individuals and gatherings in every part of the world.

Unlike the previous indictment, the latest US charge sheet condemns Assange over WikiLeaks’ role in assisting Edward Snowden to travel from Hong Kong to Russia in 2013, where he successfully obtained political asylum. Snowden is a multi-award winning whistleblower, who exposed illegal global surveillance operations by the US National Security Agency.

The document complains that WikiLeaks publicised its role in defending Snowden to display its commitment to whistleblower protection. This alone brands the new indictment as a further assault on fundamental journalistic practices.

A substantial part of the new material in the indictment appears to be based on testimony and information provided by two acknowledged informants of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI): Sigurdur “Siggi” Thordarson, named in the document as “Teenager,” and Hector Monsegur, known by the online pseudonym “Sabu.”


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 27 2020, @08:54PM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 27 2020, @08:54PM (#1013375)

    Problem is that he's in an embassy -- otherwise there would have been an unfortunate explosion due to a "gas leak".

    Assange is, and has been, in an English gaol for more than a year. [aljazeera.com]

    Let me tell you how this is going to go.
    1. Eventually, Assange will be extradited to the US;
    2. After a lengthy stint in a Federal detention facility, he will go on trial;
    3. Assange will most likely be acquitted. If not, he'll likely receive a 2-4 year sentence;

    The above likely would have happened years ago if Assange hadn't hid out in the Ecuadorian Embassy for seven years, and Assange would long have been a free man.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 27 2020, @10:40PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 27 2020, @10:40PM (#1013443)

    You're an optimist. I doubt Assange will get anything but a kangaroo court.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 28 2020, @02:05AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 28 2020, @02:05AM (#1013519)

      I guess we'll just have to wait and see what actually happens.