We raised £303,202 for Julian Assange’s High Court fight against extradition

Awards and Honours -Julian Assange Exhibition to Open at European Parliament in

Julian Assange, the most highly acclaimed journalist of our times, is nearing five years of imprisonment and torture in Belmarsh prison for publishing evidence of US government wrongdoing. Julian Assange’s case is at a critical juncture, as his final appeal against extradition to the United States will be on February 20th – 21st, where he faces 175 years.

If extradited to the US, he faces prolonged solitary confinement in the Eastern District of Virginia, where he will stand trial for “Espionage” for publishing information in the public interest under legislation that forbids a public interest defence. The jury pool in this area is composed overwhelmingly of individuals associated with the CIA, NSA, and other entities associated with the national security sector. The only fair outcome for a case that criminalises journalism is for it not to be brought in the first place. The effect of Julian Assange’s imprisonment is to chill press freedom around the world, and to encourage harassment, politically motivated cases and imprisonment of reporters and dissidents around the world.

Julian Assange’s campaign against extradition is supported by every human rights organisation of note including Amnesty international, Human rights watch, the ACLU, Reporters without borders, the NUJ, the IFJ and Pen International.

The exhibition, titled ‘The Assange Case: Awards and Rewards,’ is scheduled to take place during the plenary session at the European Parliament in Strasbourg from the 6th to the 8th of February. The exhibit will showcase the numerous awards and honours Julian Assange has received, including Australia’s Walkley Foundation Award for Most Outstanding Contribution to Journalism and the German Konrad Wolf Prize.

The primary goal of this collection is to underscore the immense global significance and recognition of Julian Assange’s work. Stella Assange, Dominique Pradalie, President of the International Federation Of Journalists, and Günter Wallraff, the legendary German writer and journalist, as well as a lawyer for Mr Assange will be in attendance at the formal inauguration and the press conference on 6 February, 6.30pm at the Winston Churchill building Canal Area.  

The Free Assange campaign wholeheartedly welcomes the exhibition in Strasbourg to highlight the importance of Julian Assange’s case for the future of journalism as his case reaches its final stage in Britain. None of us are free, until Julian Assange is free.