In 2010, WikiLeaks, with the collaboration of mass media, published one of the widest leaks in the history of "secret" documents. Over 700,000 files of the U.S. intelligence services, which evidenced the opaque and cruel diplomatic and military actions of many governments and states. Among other things, the savage torture of Abu Ghraib prisoners in Iraq and several war crimes committed by US public officials. Among the twelve deaths were Reuters reporters Saeed Chmagh and Namir Noor-Eldeen, among others.
They have not tried anyone for those scandals. Yes, however, the people who have filtered the information very enthusiastically – the best known are Chelsea Manning and Edward Snowden – and many journalists. Among others, Julian Assange, one of the founders of Wikileaks. U.S. governments, such as Obama or Trump, have organized unparalleled international persecution against a media and a foreign citizen, Australian Assange.
Assange has been without freedom for ten years. First, detained at home; then, seven years have passed without sun or fresh air inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London. He was expelled and arrested in April 2019 after a strategy of espionage against the journalist and his family and lawyers – a Spanish company dedicated to the security of the embassy placed cameras and microphones in all rooms at the request of the secret services of EE.UU.
He is currently in a maximum security prison in London, completely isolated. Concerned about their health, about 200 doctors have published a letter alerting them to the risk of suicide. Nils Melzer, special rapporteur on torture at the UN, said he has "typical symptoms of long-term psychological torture."
A British court will decide on 4 January if Assange has been extradited to the United States of America. The request for sentences of up to 175 years in jail is awaiting trial in the United States. Under the title "Do not extradite", the newspaper The Guardian said in its editorial of December 18: "The charges against him in the United States undermine the foundations of democracy and press freedom in both countries."
He has been arrested for being the head of Wikileaks. The agency was born with the objective of guaranteeing the right of citizens to access information. Wikileaks has not stolen information and has not hacked any system. It has provided guarantees of confidentiality to citizens wishing to share information for further dissemination in the media. Journalism.
The publication of accurate information by journalists from anonymous sources is not a crime. If you extradite Assange, independent journalists will be more unprotected in their indispensable work to control the abuse of power.