DECENTRALISED MONTH OF SOLIDARITY WITH ASSANGE, WHISTLEBLO

On September 7th 2020, the farcical extradition
hearing of Julian Assange resumes for 3-4 weeks. If extradited to the US
- where granted no \u201cFirst Amendment\u201d protection - he faces 175 years in
a super-max prison. The US, the UK, aided by Ecuador, Sweden and
others, are attempting to silence Assange and WikiLeaks. Their aim is to
set a precedent that will globally harm the ability to publish
information that governments want to keep secret, along with our
collective capacity to organise and act based on that information.

The show trial of Assange heralds the intended destruction of our right
to a free, independent, incisive and investigative press. The US seeks
to criminalise and deter national security reporting in particular, as
well as actions journalists take to protect their sources. The attempted
labelling of journalism and the organising of public access to
information as \u201cconspiracy for espionage\u201d [1] by the US is unacceptable
by democratic standards as it cripples the right of the public to know
what governments do in their name.

The documents released by WikiLeaks for which Assange stands accused
provide comprehensive evidence of the brutal war crimes committed in
Iraq and Afghanistan [2], accessible in an undeniable, authentic and
searchable form. WikiLeaks operates as any investigative journalist
should in the 21st century; protecting their sources and securing their
communications in their exposing of government lies and corruption.

As many international experts, NGOs, lawyers, journalists and UN special
rapporteurs have observed[3], the documents published by WikiLeaks are
undoubtedly of immense interest to the public around the world. These
releases have earned Assange and WikiLeaks many global distinctions and
prestigious journalistic awards [4].

It is now time to reclaim this essential part of our collective history,
by defending Assange, investigative journalists and whistleblowers
worldwide.

During the weeks of the hearing and beyond [5], groups and individuals
across the globe will be using all the creative means available offline
and online to express their solidarity, denounce this parodic fraud of
justice, defend Julian Assange and celebrate the protection of
journalistic sources.

In many joyful and inventive ways
including music, performances, occupation of the public space and
wikis, and through decentralised means, we intend to remind everyone of
our collective right and duty to hold power to account by exposing
governments' secrets, their lies and crimes.

The persecution of Assange is the persecution of a free, independent
press, the persecution of Truth and Justice. It is the persecution of
each one of us and of our future ability to denounce and combat abuses
of power.

Defending Assange means defending our Future! We stand in solidarity and
organise everywhere to tell this story to the World. In London, Berlin,
Mexico, Paris, Brisbane, Vienna, Oslo, Toronto, Hamburg, Washington DC,
Frankfurt, Adelaide, Brussels, New York City, Rome, and elsewhere\u2026 Join us!

More information and inspiration about upcoming actions and events all over the Globe:

https://challengepower.info/sept2020hearingactions

More information about the case:

https://defend.wikileaks.org

https://dontextraditeassange.com

https://challengepower.info

The War on Journalism - The Assange Case exposed in a 38min freely available documentary:

https://video.emergeheart.info/videos/watch/f2467447-f5a8-45c9-8d08-804d6a2d4747

[1] see the \u201cnew\u201d indictment: https://challengepower.info/superseding_indictment_-_24-06-2020

[2] the releases covered by the accusations of espionage are, among others the \u201cCollateral Murder\u201d video https://challengepower.info/Collateral%20Murder , the Iraq and Afghanistan \u201cwar logs\u201d exposing dozen thousands unaccounted death.

[3] they defend Assange and the right for WikiLeaks to expose secrets: https://challengepower.info/in_defense_of_julian_assange

[4] Assange's awards for journalism https://challengepower.info/assange_s_awards_and_recognition

[5] a calendar of various events, updated regularly: https://challengepower.info/sept2020hearingactions