In a major victory for freedom of speech, the UK government has released investigative journalist Julian Assange from prison. A UN special rapporteur said last year that Assange’s treatment constituted a form of torture and “other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.”
Stella Assange, Julian’s wife, told the BBC a few hours ago that the couple's two children "still don't know" that they would soon be united with their father, whom they have never met outside of prison.
The US government persecuted Assange, in direct violation of the First Amendment, after he released a 2007 military video showing a US airstrike that killed 18 civilians, including two reporters from Reuters, as well as other videos and documents given to him by a whistleblower.
Many people still don’t understand why Assange’s case was so important. Public interviewed his wife Stella last year, and subscribers to Public can listen to our fascinating podcast with her here.
When he was vice president, President Joe Biden had called Assange a “high-tech terrorist.” Biden could have dropped the Assange case back in 2021 but instead tried to extradite him to stand trial in the US.
A Yahoo News Investigation reported that Donald Trump’s CIA director, Mike Pompeo, and CIA officials had considered kidnapping or even assassinating Assange.
But Trump said late last month that he was seriously considering pardoning Assange, which might have broadened his appeal to civil libertarians. And so, while the deal was in the works for months, it’s not unreasonable to speculate that Biden wanted to remove the issue as a talking point during this week’s debate with Trump.
And, indeed, the Guardian reports today that the Biden White House feared that Assange’s extradition and trial in the US would have alienated progressives.
Another factor is the case itself.
