Julian Assange

"hacktivist, whistleblower"  Julian Assange       (Publisher, spook?)
Born	Julian Paul Hawkins 1971-07-03 Townsville, Queensland, Australia
Nationality	Australian
Alma mater	Central Queensland University, University of Melbourne
Children	4
Parents	• Christine Assange • John Shipton
Spouse	Teresa Doe
Founder of	Wikileaks
Party	Independent,  (since 2015),  WikiLeaks,  (2012—2015)
A "hacktivist" of mysterious background, whose website, Wikileaks, has been the conduit for a lot of whistleblowing. His pronounced disinterest in 9/11 is particularly notable.  Editor-in-Chief In office 2006 - 26 September 2018 Employer WikiLeaks Succeeded by Kristinn Hrafnsson  Chairman of the WikiLeaks Party In office 2 July 2013 - 23 July 2015

Julian Assange, né Julian Paul Hawkins, is an Australian programmer. In 2006 he founded Wikileaks.

On 28 November 2016, Julian Assange said:

“Today, marking the six-year anniversary of Cablegate, WikiLeaks expands its Public Library of US Diplomacy (PLUSD) with more than half a million (531,525) diplomatic cables from 1979. If any year could be said to be the ‘year zero’ of our modern era, 1979 is it. (…) In 1979 it seemed as if the blood would never stop. Dozens of countries saw assassinations, coups, revolts, bombings, political kidnappings and wars of liberation.”

This, in turn, he said led to the 9/11 terror strikes, the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq by the US, and the creation of ISIS.

Federal criminal charges

On 16 November 2018, various corporate media revealed that US prosecutors were preparing to pursue a criminal case against Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. Most experts believe that the notion that federal criminal charges could be brought based on the publication of truthful information is an incredibly dangerous precedent to set.

On Thursday 11th April 2019, the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia unsealed a March 6, 2018 indictment charging Julian Assange, the founder head of WikiLeaks, for conspiring to commit computer intrusions by assisting Chelsea Manning with breaking a US government password. The Grand Jury charged violations of U.S. Code - Unannotated Title 18. Crimes and Criminal Procedure § 371, 1030(a)(1), 1030(a)(2) and 1030(c)(2)(B)(ii), and if convicted "each shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both."

A US Justice Department statement confirmed press reports that Assange was arrested in the United Kingdom on Thursday morning under the US/UK extradition agreement. The full indictment is here.

17 additional charges

Facing up to 175 years in prison?

On 23 May 2019, the US Justice Department unveiled a further 17 criminal charges against Julian Assange, saying he contravened the Espionage Act of 1917 by publishing the names of classified sources and conspired with and assisted ex-Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning in obtaining access to classified information. Each charge carries a jail sentence of up to 10 years.

He now faces a total of 18 criminal counts, which could result in up to 175 years in prison if convicted:

“These unprecedented charges demonstrate the gravity of the threat the criminal prosecution of Julian Assange poses to all journalists in their endeavour to inform the public about actions that have been taken by the US government,” said Barry Pollack, an American attorney for Assange.

The Justice Department’s quick turnaround with the filing of a more substantial indictment against Assange is not surprising. Under extradition rules, the United States had only a 60-day window from the date of Assange’s arrest in London to add more charges. After that, foreign governments do not generally accept superseding charges.

"I told you so"

Kristinn Hrafnsson tweeted:

"I find no satisfaction in saying ‘I told you so’ to those who for 9 years have scorned us for warning this moment would come. I care for journalism. If you share my feeling you take a stand NOW. Either you are a worthless coward or you defend Assange, WikiLeaks and Journalism."

Background

Julian Assange was born in Australia to Christine Ann Hawkins, a visual artist, and John Shipton, an anti-war activist and builder, who separated before their son was born. His mother married Richard Brett Assange when Julian was a year old. Assange had a nomadic childhood, and had lived in over thirty Australian towns and cities by the time he reached his mid-teens, when he settled with his mother and half-brother in Melbourne, Victoria. His mother "became involved with Leif Meynell, also known as Leif Hamilton, a member of Australian cult The Family, with whom she had a son before the couple broke up in 1982." Assange’s hacker alias, which he used from the age of 16, was Mendax, (Latin for "lying").

Hacking

Assange was arrested for hacking in 1991, in 1996 he plead guilty and was sentenced leniently in light of his disrupted childhood

Ecuadorian embassy siege

In June 2012 Julian Assange took refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in London to avoid extradition to Sweden over sex assault claims, which he denies. Assange was effectively imprisoned in the Ecuadorian embassy as a result of establishment allegations of sexual offences. He is under a siege by the Metropolitan Police which has cost over £10million. On 13 March 2015, it was reported that Swedish prosecutor Marianne Ny had asked for Julian Assange to be interviewed in London about the rape and sexual assault allegations, despite previously insisting talks should be held in Stockholm. Assange's lawyer Per Samuelsson said:

"I have spoken to him early this morning - I think I even woke him up - and he said 'this is a great victory for me' in the case. But simultaneously he was irritated that it took so long for the prosecutor to do her job properly...there is a mixture of feelings."

In 2014, Julian Assange complained to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD) that he was being "arbitrarily detained" as he could not leave the embassy without being arrested. The panel of legal experts, which has taken evidence from the UK and Sweden, was due to announce the findings of its investigation into the case on 5 February 2016 but the BBC leaked the result a day early under the headline "UN panel 'rules in Julian Assange's favour'". Commenting for the first time on the UNWGAD panel's ruling, Swedish prosecutor Marianne Ny said on 9 February 2016 she was "currently working on a renewed request to interview Julian Assange at Ecuador's embassy in London".

Tweets

On 4 February 2016, Julian Assange tweeted:

"Should the UN announce tomorrow that I have lost my case against the United Kingdom and Sweden I shall exit the embassy at noon on Friday to accept arrest by British police as there is no meaningful prospect of further appeal. However, should I prevail and the state parties be found to have acted unlawfully, I expect the immediate return of my passport and the termination of further attempts to arrest me. Julian Assange, Embassy of Ecuador, London (https://justice4assange.com/)."

On 6 October 2017, Assange tweeted:

"The Nobel Peace Prize has finally been awarded to a group that fits the criteria: the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons.

On 12 February 2018, he tweeted:

My arrest warrant judgment is tomorrow 2pm (Feb 13), Westminster Magistrates Court, London.

And on 13 February 2018, he tweeted:

Judge refuses to withdraw Julian Assange arrest warrant.

"Free Julian Assange"

On 1 March 2016, Britain and Sweden were called upon to respect the UNWGAD decision and free Julian Assange. The following statement, signed by more than 500 high profile signatories from more than 60 countries including William Blum, Noam Chomsky, John Goss, Craig Murray and John Pilger, was delivered to the Swedish and UK Permanent Representatives to the United Nations in Geneva:

“We the undersigned, including legal and human rights organisations, academics, and policymakers condemn the reactions of the governments of Sweden and the United Kingdom to the finding by the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention that Julian Assange is arbitrarily detained.

"The governments of Sweden and the United Kingdom are setting a dangerous precedent that undermines the United Nations Human Rights system as a whole. We urge Sweden and the United Kingdom to respect the binding nature of the human rights covenants on which the decision is based, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; as well as the independence, integrity and authority of the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights and the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.

"We therefore call on the governments of Sweden and the United Kingdom to comply without further delay with the Working Group’s findings and 'ensure the right of free movement of Mr. Assange and accord him an enforceable right to compensation, in accordance with article 9(5) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights'.”

Metropolitan Police arrest Julian Assange

Assange arrested

On 11 April 2019, Craig Murray tweeted:

"Have to head back to London to help in light of Ecuadorian betrayal and Julian's sad arrest. The fight is now on whether a journalist should be imprisoned for publishing documents from a whistleblower on war crimes."

Wikileaks tweeted:

"Ecuador has illegally terminated Assange political asylum in violation of international law. He was arrested by the British police inside the Ecuadorian embassy minutes ago."

Publishing a video of the arrest, RT reported:

"WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been evicted from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London where he has spent the last six years. Ecuador's president Lenin Moreno has announced that the country has withdrawn asylum from Assange."

Banged up in Belmarsh

On the day of his arrest, Assange appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court where District Judge Michael Snow remanded him to Belmarsh Prison until 2 May 2019, when he was sentenced by Judge Deborah Taylor at Southwark Crown Court to 50 weeks in jail for breaching his bail conditions in 2012.

Journalist Gordon Dimmack receives letter from Belmarsh Prison

The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD) said it was deeply concerned by the “disproportionate sentence” imposed on Assange for violating the terms of his bail, which it described as a “minor violation”:

“The working group is further concerned that Mr Assange has been detained since 11 April 2019 in Belmarsh Prison, a high-security prison, as if he were convicted for a serious criminal offence. This treatment appears to contravene the principles of necessity and proportionality envisaged by the human rights standards.

“UNWGAD reiterates its recommendation to the government of the United Kingdom, as expressed in its opinion 54/2015, and its 21 December 2018 statement, that the right of Mr Assange to personal liberty should be restored.”

In May 2019 allegations surfaced that he was being chemically lobotomized, this is cited in this document Document:Julian Assange Tortured with Psychotropic Drug.

On 25 May 2019, Assange addressed a letter to journalist Gordon Dimmack describing the conditions in prison:

"I have been isolated from all ability to prepare to defend myself, no laptop, no internet, no computer, no library so far, but even if I do get access it will be just for half an hour with everyone else once a week. Just two visits a month and it takes weeks to get someone on the call list and the Catch-22 in getting their details to be security screened. Then all calls except lawyer are recorded and are a maximum 10 minutes and in a limited 30 minutes each day in which all prisoners compete for the phone."

Views On September 11th

"Following 9/11, the CIA paved the way for the creation of ISIS"

Webster Tarpley is highly critical of Julian Assange, describing Wikileaks as a "modified limited hangout". Perhaps the most convincing single piece of evidence of this is his public support for the US government's official narrative as regards the September 11th attacks.

"I'm constantly annoyed that people are distracted by false conspiracies such as 9/11, when all around we provide evidence of real conspiracies, for war or mass financial fraud."
Julian Assange

It is an open question whether this is his sincere belief.

More leaks to come

WikiLeaks is planning new releases of secret documents on controversial negotiations and intelligence agency operations, according to the anti-secrecy organisation's Australian founder, Julian Assange.

In an interview with Fairfax Media, Assange said that while he does not expect to leave Ecuador's London embassy any time soon, WikiLeaks very much remains in the business of publishing the secrets of diplomats and spies:

"There'll be more publications – about large international so-called free trade deals, and about an intelligence agency," Mr Assange said.

Whacking Megrahi

Diagnosed with terminal cancer Abdelbaset al-Megrahi arriving at Tripoli airport, 20 August 2009

Julian Assange and Wikileaks have been pilloried by many as traitorous to Western interests. Yet those who maintain that Abdelbaset al-Megrahi was convicted of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing due to false evidence, concealed police diaries and other misrepresented evidence have cause to be grateful to Assange and those who support and assist him. In December 2011, six weeks after the end of the Libyan maelstrom of war and bloody death, with its brutal killing of Muammar Gaddafi, Jim Swire secretly travelled to Tripoli for his final meeting with al-Megrahi, a man shortly to die of cancer. The NATO bombing campaign was over, and the conflict had reduced to sporadic outbreaks of firing and killing in several outlying parts of the country. Tripoli seemed at peace and the quiet streets offered no hint of the evil that had rampaged across the nation over the previous ten months.

Unknown to Jim Swire, American intelligence and some within the American administration had three months previously been discussing the illegal rendition and assassination of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi. Stratfor is a Texas headquartered global intelligence supplier to large corporations such as the Dow Chemical Co., Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and government agencies including the US Department of Homeland Security, the US Marines and the US Defense Intelligence Agency. The company’s Vice President is Fred Burton, a man much respected by those who see all foreigners as inferior to Americans. A contributor to US chat shows and Fox News, Burton has written several books and is a welcome speaker at Republican and right-wing gatherings.

On 19 August 2011, in a widely circulated email, Brian Genchur of Stratfor wrote:

"I would like to kill the terrorist al-Megrahi myself. I'm hunting for him on my own thru a few channels. If he can be found, I'll have him whacked."

We can be sure that if Genchur and friends had carried out an assassination they would have killed any witnesses including members of the Megrahi family who were continually at Baset’s bedside. Five days later on 24 August 2011, CEO Fred Burton added a further statement:

“While the world is focusing on the chaos in Libya counterterrorism agents could take advantage of this window of opportunity to capture al-Megrahi. The symbolism of grabbing and bringing him back to stand trial in a US court would resonate around the world.”

The Genchur and Burton emails were revealed solely through the brave actions of Julian Assange and Wikileaks. Those who believe in the freedoms of an informed democracy should have cause to be grateful.

3 July 1971| 

Documents by Julian Assange

Title	Document type	Publication date	Subject(s)	Description
Document:Assange Statement on the start of Bradley Manning trial	statement	4 June 2013	Chelsea Manning
Document:Freedom and the Future of the Internet	book introduction	1 October 2012	Surveillance State Cypherpunks: Freedom and the Future of the Internet
Document:Google and the NSA	article	24 August 2013	National Security Agency Mass surveillance Google
Document:Guantanamo SOP Confirms Psychological Torture	article	17 November 2007	Torture Guantanamo Bay detention camp	Standard operating procedures for military personnel running the Guatanamo Bay military prison confirm that the rules governing the treatment of its inmates amounts to systematic torture
Document:Julian Assange at Moment of Truth	Video transcript	15 September 2014	UKUSA Mass surveillance	Speech by Julian Assange to the Moment of Truth event in New Zealand on 15 September 2014

 

Related Documents

Title	Type	Publication date	Author(s)	Description
Document:Abuses show Assange case was never about law	blog post	27 May 2019	Jonathan Cook	Craig Murray says: "As a summary of the truly breathtaking series of legal abuses by states against Julian Assange, that the corporate and state media has been deliberately distorting and hiding for a decade, this excellent account by Jonathan Cook cannot be bettered."
Document:All Pretence is Over in Persecution of Assange	blog post	14 February 2018	Craig Murray	“Lady” Arbuthnot has perhaps performed an unwitting public service by the brazen nature of her partiality, which exposes beyond refutation the charade of legal process behind the effort to arrest Assange, in reality over the publication of USA secrets.
Document:Chelsea Manning released, faces new imprisonment for refusing to testify against Assange	Article	10 May 2019	Niles Niemuth	“The idea I hold the keys to my own cell is an absurd one, as I face the prospect of suffering either way due to this unnecessary and punitive subpoena: I can either go to jail or betray my principles,” Manning explained. “The latter exists as a much worse prison than the government can construct.”
Document:Chelsea and Julian are in Jail. History Trembles.	blog post	12 April 2019	Craig Murray	Julian Assange said nothing during the whole brief proceedings, other than to say “Not guilty” twice, and to ask a one sentence question about why the charges were changed midway through this sham “trial”. Yet Judge Michael Snow condemned Assange as “narcissistic”.
Document:Diane Abbott – 2019 Speech on Julian Assange	Speech	11 April 2019	Diane Abbott	We only have to look at the treatment of Chelsea Manning to see what awaits Julian Assange if he is extradited to the US
Document:Free Julian Assange, Mr. President	Article	9 February 2018	Roger Stone	The Donald Trump I know is a generous, compassionate, humane and, above all, fair man. As his steadfast, loyal, decades-long supporter, with all I have I implore him: Mr. President, FREE JULIAN ASSANGE!
Document:Huawei Hypocrisy	blog post	7 May 2019	Craig Murray	Former Deputy PM Nick Clegg said GCHQ's ability "to hack anything from handsets to whole networks … needs to be much better understood".
Document:Julian Assange Tortured with Psychotropic Drug	Article	8 May 2019	Kurt Nimmo	The FBI, Pentagon, and CIA are “interviewing” Julian Assange in Belmarsh Prison. The CIA Director Gina Haspel (aka Chemical Gina) has her hands in this one, and we are being told that Assange is being “treated” with BZ (a powerful drug that produces hallucinations).
Document:Julian Assange denied access to lawyers, visitors in Britain’s Belmarsh prison	Article	24 April 2019	Oscar Grenfell	Chelsea Manning’s punitive detention is a warning of the treatment that will be meted out to Julian Assange if he is extradited to the US
Document:Julian Assange exposed the crimes of powerful actors, including Israel	blog post	19 April 2019	Alison Weir	Julian Assange has recently been honoured with the 2019 Award for Journalists, Whistleblowers & Defenders of the Right to Information and Nobel laureate Mairead Maguire has nominated him for the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize.
Document:Muellergate and the Discreet Lies of the Bourgeoisie	Blog post	1 April 2019	Craig Murray	The capacity of the mainstream media repeatedly to promote the myth that Russia caused Clinton’s defeat, while never mentioning what the information was that had been so damaging to Hillary, should be alarming to anybody under the illusion that we have a working “free media”.
Document:No fair hearing for Assange at the Guardian	article	5 February 2016	Jonathan Cook	Demonstrates the Establishment-friendly double standards of the UK's flagship 'Left-wing' newspaper - The Guardian - through analysis of its coverage of a UN decision on the political asylum of Julian Assange
Document:On the Pavement with Wikileaks	blog post	7 April 2019	Craig Murray	Pretty well all of the Western media is going to want to focus on these false anti-Assange narratives, and they will be determined to give as little attention as possible to the fact he is a publisher facing trial for publishing leaked state documents which revealed state wrongdoing. It is a classic and fundamental issue of freedom of speech and freedom of the press.
Document:Revenge Is Mine Saith Washington	article	20 November 2018	Paul Craig Roberts	An abridged article about the persecution of Julian Assange. It illustrates the depths to which elementary notions of justice have sunk in the West - and especially in the UK and USA - where perceived threats to Deep State interests are involved.
Document:Sex, Lies and Julian Assange	Transcript	23 July 2012	Andrew Fowler	He humiliated the most powerful country in the world. But his relationship with two Swedish women, and their claims of sexual assault, may yet destroy Julian Assange.
Document:So Where is the Swedish Warrant?	blog post	27 April 2019	Craig Murray	All those Blairite MPs who seek to dodge the glaring issue of freedom of the media to publish whistleblower material revealing government crimes, by hiding behind trumped-up sexual allegations, are left looking pretty stupid.
Document:The 7 years of lies about Assange won’t stop now	Blog post	11 April 2019	Jonathan Cook	A brief resume of the lies and deceptions promoted by The Establishment about Julian Assange during his asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy.
Document:The Assange Arrest is a Warning From History	Article	12 April 2019	John Pilger	Leni Riefenstahl, close friend of Adolf Hitler, whose films helped cast the Nazi spell over Germany told me that the message in her films, the propaganda, was dependent not on “orders from above” but on what she called the “submissive void” of the public: "When people no longer ask serious questions, they are submissive and malleable. Anything can happen.”
Document:The Broader View Reveals the Ugliest of Prospects	blog post	17 June 2019	Craig Murray	I find it hard to believe that I live in times where Julian Assange suffers as he does for telling the truth, where a dedicated anti-racist like Jeremy Corbyn is subjected to daily false accusations of racism and to US and security service backed efforts to thwart his democratic prospects, where the most laughable false flag is paraded to move us towards war with Iran, and where there is no semblance of a genuinely independent media.
Document:The Unrelenting State	blog post	31 May 2019	Craig Murray	Julian Assange: That the most lucid man I know is now not capable of having a rational conversation is extremely alarming.
Document:Trump, Assange, Bannon, Farage… bound together in an unholy alliance	Op-ed	29 October 2017	Carole Cadwalladr	(You got this? Farage visited Trump, then Assange, then Rohrabacher. Rohrabacher met Don Trump’s Russian lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya. Then Assange. And is now trying to close the circle with Trump.)
Document:UN expert says "collective persecution" of Julian Assange must end now	Report	31 May 2019	Nils Melzer	“In 20 years of work with victims of war, violence and political persecution I have never seen a group of democratic States ganging up to deliberately isolate, demonise and abuse a single individual for such a long time and with so little regard for human dignity and the rule of law,” Professor Melzer said. “The collective persecution of Julian Assange must end here and now!"
Document:Why I am Convinced that Anna Ardin is a Liar	blog post	11 September 2012	Craig Murray	To those useful idiots who claim that the way to test these matters is in court, I would say of course, you are right, we should trust the state always, fit-ups never happen, and we should absolutely condemn the disgraceful behaviour of those who campaigned for the Birmingham Six
Document:Wikileaks - Open Letter to the US Government	open letter	14 July 2011	RevolutionTruth