Through a joint letter published on Monday, the New York Times, The Guardian, Le Monde, Der Spiegel and El Pais asked the United States to withdraw the espionage law charges against Julian Assange, because this prosecution undermines press freedom.
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«The publication is not a crime», they said, noting that the prosecution of Julian Assange under the espionage law creates a dangerous precedent and undermines the First Amendment (Separation of church and state, Freedom of the press and expression) of the US Constitution.
“Obtaining and disclosing sensitive information, when necessary in the public interest, is a key part of journalists’ daily work… If this work is criminalized, our public discourse and our democracies become significantly weaker,” the letter said.
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It is recalled that twelve years ago, these American and European media published excerpts of the revelations contained in 250,000 documents, which were leaked to WikiLeaks by the then American soldier Chelsea Manning. Following this leak, Washington initiated proceedings to indict Assange based on legislation intended to prosecute spies . Today, Julian Assange has been imprisoned in Belmarsh prison in London since 2019, when he was arrested in the Ecuadorian embassy where he had been residing for seven years.
Former BritishPriti Patel approved his extradition to the United States in June, and Assange's lawyers have appealed.
Source of information: documentonews.gr
